


Infernos of the Earth

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, It gets crazy, Ward is Hellfire, somewhat of a redemption fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 39,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4015978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were both on the run from people trying to use them. They both have powers they cannot even begin to understand. So maybe they can help each other somehow. They can be monsters together, fighting to protect each other. They are both Inhuman. (Horrible summary, but good story. Spoilers for season 2.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One (The Flames of Hope)

(Seven Months After the Events at San Juan.)

Skye sighed, looking out the window of the small diner she now called her workplace. It was a meager job, but it was better than nothing. She had left Coulson and the team about five months ago, after Coulson had went crazy trying to train Skye into some sort of living weapon to use against Hydra.

Seven months ago, something had happened to her inside the alien temple. A few days after that, seismic events kept happening wherever she was. She later found out that it was her herself causing the activity.

And once Coulson found this out, he became obsessed over trying to make Skye learn how to use these newfound abilities to fight against Hydra. But it became way too much for Skye to handle, so she had left the entire team behind without even saying goodbye.

She found a small town in Kentucky to settle in, where she found a job at a small diner under an alias. Life had been pretty good for the past five months, so far.

She was cleaning off a table when she saw the men, all four in black suits. They kept eying her. Skye frowned, finding this strange. But she kept on with her usual business, trying not to attract attention to her. She kept glancing at them, seeing what they were doing. She almost froze, seeing the outline of guns underneath two of the mens' suit jackets.

Skye approached one of her coworkers, "Hey, Laura?" she asked.

"Yeah, Eliza?" Laura asked. "What's up?"

"Can you cover my one table real quick?" Skye asked. "I've got to take a, um, restroom break real fast. Won't take me long."

Laura nodded, 'Sure, no problem." she said, smiling.

"Thanks!" Skye slipped out of the main diner room and towards the bathrooms. But she didn't go towards the bathroom, but slipped out the back door instead and into the back alley.

The men noticed this and left their booth and quickly followed her route.

"You're not going anywhere." one of them said once they had Skye cornered in the alley. They all pointed guns at her.

"Let me guess." she said. "Hydra?"

"How did you know?" another said with a smile.

"Knew someone would be after me eventually. And you're not SHIELD." Skye said. "Now get the hell away from me."

"Sorry, babe, can't do that. We have orders to take you in, no matter the cost."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "Creepy. And I'm not going with Hydra. Now get away."

"It's useless." one said. "We know you can't do anything without taking down a building with you."

"I don't know where you heard that from." Skye said. "But I've improved since the last Hydra encounter I had months ago."

She thrusted out her hand towards the ground underneath one of them. The ground rumbled beneath him and crumbled. He screamed as he fell through the hole and into nothing.

"See?"

"Enough games, love." another growled, his accent clearly British. "Surrender now, or we will have plenty of backup to come and kill you."

"I'm so scared." Skye teased, making the ground rumble beneath the men. "Really, I am."

The men charged towards her. She dodged out of the way and caused the ground to crumbled underneath another one of them. He disappeared out of sight as he fell screaming into the abyss of the Earth.

The look on the faces of the two remaining men told Skye that they clearly had underestimated her. And this pleased her. Hopefully they would run and she could return to what she was doing.

But the men didn't back down, they started to fire their guns at her. Skye dropped to the ground to dodge them, but one bullet grazed her cheek. She grimaced as she felt the skin rip open and the blood start to bubble up on her skin.

As the men approached her, she held her hands out. The ground rumbled beneath them, harder than Skye had wished, and ripped open. They disappeared under the Earth with two blood-curdling screams.

Skye gulped, pulling herself. She felt sick to her stomach, she had killed those four men. But they were Hydra, so that shouldn't matter, should it? She didn't know. But at least they weren't after her anymore. Well, not until she turned around.

"There she is!"

Skye spun around, seeing five more Hydra goons running towards her. Her stomach dropped, she couldn't possibly do anything to protect herself without leveling a building or two. The seismic activity that would have to be created to stop all of them would be way too much, innocent lives would be taken.

She braced herself, expecting bullets to fly through her, but they never came. Instead, she felt the air heat around her. And out of nowhere, a column of fire shot towards the five men. The fire engulfed the men, incinerating them to nothing.

As the fire disappeared into thin air as fast as it came, Skye saw all that remained of the men were charred ashes on the cracked, concrete ground. Heaps of melted, twisted metal laid near them. Skye figured that it was the mens' guns. Or what was left of the mens' guns.

But what had created the fire? Skye was scared and confused. How could fire possibly come out of nowhere? And the fact that the fire had targeted her five attackers scared her. Did someone use the fire to kill her? But how?

Then she heard the gruff voice that stopped time around her.

"Skye!" it cried. "Are you alright?!"

Skye's stomach froze as she saw Ward of all people appear in the alley. But it wasn't the sight of the man she hadn't seen in seven months that frightened her. It was the fact that Ward's arms were on fire. "Ward?" she croaked out.

Dark red flames specked with black and orange sparks, different from any flames that Skye had ever seen, danced up and down Ward's arms. As the man approached her, the flames snuffed out. But Ward's jacketed arms showed no signs of ever being on fire, they were perfectly fine.

"W-Ward?" she stammered. "What? How? Why the hell are you here?" she asked.

Ward looked behind him nervously, "Skye, there's no time. There's people after us. Please just trust me and come with me. I'll explain everything when I can."

"Why should I go with you?!" Skye exclaimed. "You'll just kidnap me again!"

"Skye, no I won't." Ward said softly. "I promise."

"You were just on freaking fire, Ward!" Skye yelled. "Why would I go with you?!"

"You just made the ground crumble underneath someone." Ward stated. "Please, we're in danger. I'll explain everything when I can. There is people after us. Both Hydra and SHIELD. Neither of us is safe here."

"S-SHIELD?!" Skye exclaimed.

"Just trust me." Ward pleaded. "I'll tell you later."

Skye gulped. And she said the one word that she'd never thought that she would ever say to the man again, "F-Fine."


	2. Chapter Two (Needed Explanations)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward explains what he can to Skye. And it's a lot.

Skye followed Ward to a small motel a few streets over from the diner she worked at, from the diner that Hydra had attacked her at. She followed him into what had to be his room.

"Good, we'll be safe here for just a while." Ward sighed.

Skye approached him and sent a massive slap across his face.

"Ow!" Ward exclaimed, holding his cheek. "What was that for?!"

"I need an explanation to what is happening!" Skye yelled. "What was that?! Hydra attacks me out of nowhere, you then come out of nowhere on freaking fire and incinerate them, and then you tell me that both SHIELD and Hydra are after the both of us! What the hell is going on?!"

"I would like to know that too! Since when can you make the ground crumble?" Ward asked.

"You first, I want a good explanation to why I shouldn't send this room crashing down onto you. Last time I checked, you were a traitor. What's going on? Why are you here?" Skye asked.

Ward sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, "Whether you believe it or not, Skye, I've taken it upon myself to help take down Hydra. I, I found a mission in a Hydra database that was for the capture of a 'ex-SHIELD agent with strong ties to the Director'. I thought that was probably one of Coulson's team. Didn't know it was you though. Just wanted to keep old teammates safe. Didn't understand what 'seismic abilities' could be. Guess I saw for myself. What happened?"

"I won't tell you until you tell me how the hell you were on fire." Skye stated coldly.

Ward took a breath, "Fine, I will. It's kind of a long story though."

"I don't care."

"Like I said, I've been trying to take down various Hydra factions." Ward started. "One day, about five months ago, I infiltrated a small Hydra science base to take it down. Once inside, I found a group of prisoners in a large room, I tried to get them out, but Hydra locked me in the room as well. They knew who I was. They did it as my so-called 'punishment'. I was their rat, they just wanted to see what would happen. And I came out like this.

A man came out with some kind of metallic structure, looked like that Obelisk thing you picked up at San Juan. The room was an experimentation room, and I was trapped." he continued. "The man did something to the structure, putting it on some kind of pedestal. What looked like crystals appeared and this gas-like something burst from it. It hit me. Next thing I knew, I was turning into stone. Everything's dark after that."

Skye's stomach fell. That's what happened to her at the Temple.

"Then there was this sensation of heat and power, nothing like I ever felt before. It was amazing." Ward continued. "But when I opened my eyes, I was surrounded, no, engulfed my fire. Everything was burning around me, but I was safe. I wasn't being burned. Then I ran, ran far away from the base.

Found out that I could, create, summon, fire, out of nowhere. Now I can pretty much control it, but it flares up with emotions, burnt down a small cabin that way last month. Took down a few more bases, causing them to burn. Hydra started to call the fire the Flames of Hell, Hellfire basically. They never knew what caused them to burn, until now. I'm on their and SHIELD's radar. And you are too, why?" he asked.

Skye took a breath, taking Ward's story in. "At San Juan, in the Temple, something happened to me. Basically the same as you said what had happened to you. The Obelisk, crystals, gas, turning to stone. Triplett died that day."

Ward's face fell, "What?" he asked "He's dead?"

Skye nodded sadly, "Tried to protect me from the Obelisk, but he turned to stone and crumbled away. I killed him. My powers killed him."

"Skye, I know you. You didn't kill him. The Obelisk or whatever did."

Skye took a ragged breath, "Fine, whatever you say. Still doesn't change the fact that he's gone. But then came the abilities. Sporadic at first, then almost everyday cause I couldn't control them. Almost brought down the base. Everyone treated me like an outcast, a monster. Wouldn't look at me straight. Then Coulson became obsessed with trying to turn me into some kind of weapon against Hydra. It became too much for me, I left without even saying goodbye." she explained.

"Then I arrived here in town about five months ago, under an alias, and found a small house and got the job at the diner. Never had a problem until now, until the men came. Hell, I was even training my powers in a field several miles from the town so I could control them."

Ward looked to the floor, "Guess nothing's ever easy. I thought that I would easily be able to take down Hydra factions, not until I got on their radar, not until I somehow got on SHIELD's radar. SHIELD doesn't know it's me, but Hydra does. SHIELD is looking for a man under the codename of 'Hellfire'. They'll never find me though."

"Then why is SHIELD after me?" Skye asked weakly. "Why them?"

Ward shook his head, "I don't know." he said. "Knowing Coulson, he sees you as a threat now. He probably wants you back so he can keep an eye on you, I don't know. But I know that Hydra wants us both probably so they can cut us up and see what makes us tick."

"Like my mother." Skye said softly.

"Exactly, and no one will spare us." Ward said.

"Then why are you here?" Skye asked. "Give me the real reason."

Ward gulped, balling his hand into a fist, "To, to protect you." he said. "I don't want to see you get hurt. I was hoping that, that we could go together and, and protect each other. Skye, we're both fugitive from two very dangerous organizations and we both need help, it's not good for either of us to be alone at this point."

"I why would I want to help you of all people?" Skye asked coldly. "Why in hell would I?"

"Skye, I promised that I would never hurt you again, that I would make sure that you were safe no matter what. This is me keeping my promise." Ward replied, honestly in his soft, brown eyes. "I won't hurt you. Actually, it was chance that I came up upon you here. Just thought that Hydra was planning on attacking a coworker of Coulson's, I was nearby and thought I would do a favor. I-I didn't know that it was you. Honestly."

Skye grimaced as she heard police sirens going down the street past the motel. She took a breath, "I guess it was a good thing that you were here. I could've been killed or even killed innocent lives. I guess I can say thank you, but for this one time."

Ward frowned as more cop cars sped down the road, "I guess someone found the, uh, 'little' Hydra scene."

"How? They're all gone."

"There is massive piles of ashes, melted metal, and massive holes in the ground where you can probably see dead bodies. And someone probably felt the tremors and flipped out." Ward said calmly.

Skye panicked, "W-What do we do?" she stammered, the room starting to shake a little from her miscontrol of her power.

Ward jumped up and placed a hand on her shoulder, "First of all, just calm down. Take deep breaths. Don't want this place crumbling on us. We'll be fine."

Skye started to take deep breaths, and the shaking subsided. "What do we do?" she asked again.

Ward gulped, "We'll leave town, together if you trust me. We'll find somewhere safe. I promise. I'll keep you safe."

Skye hesitated but then nodded, "F-Fine, I just need to stop by where I live and grab my things. I'm trusting you with all of this, do not stab me in the back again. Or I will literally send you to hell."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the reception! Again, this is a fic I did during the midseason hiatus, so it's far from what happened in 2B. And the whole story is up on Fanfiction, so I'll be able to get multiple chapters up a day.


	3. Chapter Three (Status: On The Run)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Ward agree to help each other. Coulson's team gets word of 'a man of fire' and what seems to be Skye.

Ward frowned as he and Skye pulled up to a small house right outside of the town, "This is where you live?" he asked.

"Yes. You've got a problem with it?" Skye asked back.

"No, it's just that," Ward took another look at the plain, simple house. "It's just that it doesn't seem like you."

"It's a small house, easy to pack up in case I ever had to run. Like now." Skye said as they got out of Ward's 'borrowed' black car. "Do you even have a place to live?" she asked. "You're not one to question my housing choices."

"Touche." Ward grumbled under his breath. "Look, let's get in and out as fast as we can. We don't know if Hydra's still around here of if SHIELD happens to be here somehow."

"Fine." Skye retorted. "I just got get some clothes and a few other supplies and I will be good to go. Still can't believe I'm trusting you about all of this."

The two went inside the small house and to what seemed to be Skye's bedroom. Ward stood off to the side as Skye started to pile clothes into a duffel bag. Ward's eyes drifted to the dried blood on Skye's cheek and what seemed to be a gash.

He frowned, "Where's your first aid things?" he asked.

Skye pointed to the bathroom, "In there in the cabinet above the sink. Why?"

"You're still bleeding." He headed into the bathroom.

Skye held a hand up to her bloodied cheek, "Oh, this? It's nothing. A bullet grazed me."

Ward stuck his head out of the bathroom and frowned at Skye, "A bullet?" he asked. "Skye, that's not nothing. A bullet grazed you and it's still bleeding."

"Fine, get the first aid stuff." Skye grumbled, waving a dismissive hand, still packing up clothes. "Since when did you become as bad as Simmons?"

"I'm not." Ward said, coming out with the supplies. "But you're still bleeding. You don't need to be going around with blood on your face. We're in hiding, remember?" He pointed to the bed, "Sit down."

Skye hesitated, she wasn't sure if she wanted Ward touching her yet. But she sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. She winced as Ward placed a cold cotton ball coated in peroxide on the gash. "Hey, that hurts." she grumbled.

"Then it's probably infected." Ward said. "Keep still."

"Fine, Dr. Ward." Skye said with a slight smile.

Ward rolled his eyes as Skye's quip and finished cleaning off the blood off her cheek. He placed two small bandages on the gash to keep it closed. He placed the first aid supplies aside, "There. And we might want to take this stuff with us."

Skye sighed, "Fine and thank you." she pointed to another bag. "Put it in there. That's gonna be a supplies bag."

"You know, I have supplies with me." Ward said, putting the first aid supplies in the bag. "And I have several drop boxes where I can get money and other things when we need them."

"It doesn't hurt to have more than we need." Skye said, getting up and zipping up her clothes bag."

"Whatever you say." Ward mumbled.

Skye picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder, "Let's get the remaining supplies and we can go, before Hydra or SHIELD comes out of nowhere to get us."

"Fine."

The two continued to get the rest of the supplies from around Skye's small house. Once they had everything, they went back to Ward's car. Ward helped Skye put the bags in the trunk.

Skye looked back to her house, "Wait, I've got to get something."

"Fine, but be quick." Ward said.

Skye ran into the house and came back out a minute later with a laptop and a charger.

"A laptop?" Ward asked, getting into the car.

"I may be on the run, but I'm not leaving my laptop behind." Skye retorted. "I an use it, for things."

"Things?" Ward asked as Skye got into the car and closed the door.

"You know, things."

Ward rolled his eyes, 'Never mind. Look, don't goof around." he said. "From this moment on, we're both on the run. And from two dangerous organizations at that. We've both got to be careful from this moment on."

Skye sighed as Ward started up the car and pulled away from the house, "Whatever you say, Sparky. Don't be misleading me with any of this."

Ward held his breath, "I promise, I'm not. And do not call me Sparky."

"Do you want me to go back to Robot?" Skye asked. "Trying to keep the mood up here."

"That doesn't help. Nicknames do not help."

"You can set yourself on fire, I'm gonna call you Sparky." Skye said with a smile. "Besides, let me have a little fun. You got your way with me coming with you. At least let me call you something."

Ward groaned.

* * *

(Elsewhere, SHIELD Base The Playground.)

Coulson looked up at the screen behind his desk, "It can't be, can it?" he asked, turning around to look at Bobbi, Hunter, and May who stood in front of his desk.

"Sir," Hunter began.

"Witnesses reported shaking out of the blue." Coulson said. "Strange for that area in Kentucky. One witness reported seeing a young woman being confronted by four men in black suits."

"SHIELD?" May asked.  
"No." Coulson replied. "Then the ground crumbled underneath them, and they fell through the earth."

Hunter frowned, "Well, that's strange." he said.

"Then apparently five more black-suited men came out of nowhere, according to this witness." Coulson continued. "Now it gets really weird. Then apparently  _flames_ shot out of completely nowhere, engulfed the men, and incinerated them. The last thing the witness said she said before running off was a tall, black haired man approaching the young woman. And that his arms were completely engulfed in, well, fire."

"Another gifted?" Bobbi asked.

"Sounds like that Hellfire guy that we and Hydra have been dealing with." Hunter commented. "But if the girl was Skye, why would he approach her?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know." Coulson said. "We need to find Skye, soon. If she's with this Hellfire guy, it could be dangerous for her. We don't know who he is. We need to find her."

"Sir," Bobbi said. "If Skye was going to come back to us, she would have by now. It's been seven months since she left. If she wanted to come back, she would be here right now. I don't think we really need to be after her at this point."

"She's got a point." Hunter added in.

May raised an eyebrow and looked to Coulson.

"I-I know, it's just that I don't know what to do. I'm to blame for her leaving, I was too hard on her to get her to train those powers of her."

"We're all to blame." Hunter said. "We all treated her like an outcast since her powers or whatever woke up. It's all of our faults."

"Yes, it is. But it's mostly me." Coulson said. "And I just want to make sure that she's safe. She's on Hydra's radar too. So is this Hellfire guy. And if she's really with him, that's twice as dangerous for her. I just wanna know that she's safe and sound."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still, thanks for all of the reception!


	4. Chapter Four (In the Dead of Night)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra attacks Skye and Ward.

(The Next Night, Somewhere in Tennessee.)

"Ward, I'm telling you, you need to stop at a motel somewhere so we both can get some rest." Skye said, looking at Ward who seemed to be half-awake at the wheel. "You've been driving all day. You're gonna cause us to crash. There's plenty of distance between us and whoever was chasing us."

"I'm not going to," Ward began.

"Don't even start that, Sparky." Skye cut it. She pointing to an upcoming motel, "Look, there's a motel. We can stop there. Just for tonight. We both need to get cleaned up and get some sleep. Just for tonight. No one's gonna get us tonight."

Ward sighed, "Fine. Just for tonight." he grumbled, pulling into the motel's parking lot and parking the car. He opened the door and looked at Skye, "You stay here, I'll see if I can get us a room. And don't worry, it'll have two beds."

"Good, I don't trust you enough yet." Skye muttered. "Just go get us the room, Sparky."

Ward rolled his eyes and got out of the car, "Fine, uh, um, Quake? I don't know."

Skye stifled a laugh, "Oh my God, you cannot make up nicknames!" she exclaimed, a big smile on her face.

"I'm not creative, Skye." Ward said, frowning. "And besides, you were already Rookie. I'm not good at making up names."

Skye laughed.

"Shut up." Ward grumbled, shutting the door.

Skye rolled her eyes. She sat in the idling car for the next several minutes as Ward went into the motel's office to check for a room. She still couldn't believe that she was with Ward after everything that had happened between them. Hell, she was even warming back up to him. She didn't know why she was doing that, but for some reason he was just being so nice.

She hoped that Ward was right about everything and he wasn't just leading her into a trap. But Hydra had attacked her, she really didn't know what to think just yet.

A knock on the window jerked her out of her daydream and looked to see Ward standing impatiently outside of the car. Skye sighed and reached for the keys and turned the car off. She got out and looked at him, "Any luck?" she asked.

"Yep, one room for one night." he said, holding up a pair of keys. "Get the clothes bags out of the trunks and we'll go in."

"Why do I have to get them?" Skye asked.

"Because I got the room. You get the bags." Ward replied with a slight smile.

Skye huffed, "Fine." she muttered, heading for the trunk and opening it. She took out the two bags. They were heavier than she expected. "Jeez, what's in yours?" she asked.

"Clothes."

"I figured that much."

"Just get them and lock the car so we can get in."

(Early in the Morning, About 2 AM)

Skye jerked awake in her motel bed. Something had crashed outside. She sat up and looked towards the window, seeing shadows of movement outside of it. Fear struck her. Did someone find them already?

She jumped out of the bed and approached Ward's bed. Ward was fast asleep and snoring ever so slightly. His face was twitching a bit.

Skye shook Ward's shoulder gently, trying not to startle him. She didn't want to know what would happen if he was startled. The whole building would probably end up burning down. "Ward." she whispered, still shaking his shoulder.

Ward groaned and batted at Skye with his hand and turned the other way. Skye shook him again. "Ugg… No, Buddy… Don't lick me… That's my face…" he muttered.

Skye frowned. She didn't want to know what that meant. She shook him again, but harder this time. "Ward!" she hissed.

Ward bolted up, his black t-shirt ruffled, "Huh?! What?! Where?!" He looked around the room. He frowned when he saw Skye standing by the bed, "Skye?" he asked. "What's going on?" He glanced at the clock on the table between the two beds. "It's two in the morning. Did you forget something?"

Skye shook her head, "No. There's something outside." she said quickly. "Something crashed outside and it woke me up."

"It's probably a cat."

"I saw movement outside the window."

Ward frowned, "Fine. I'll take a look." he said, throwing the covers off of him and getting out of the bed. He walked over to the window and carefully peeked through the blinds.

Skye bounced on the balls of her bare feet in anxiety. Was it possible that someone had already found them?

"Skye," Ward said quietly. "Get your clothes on and hide in the bathroom."

Skye's face fell, "What?" she asked.

"There's armored men outside." he said. "And I don't think it's SHIELD or the police."

"Hydra?! Already?! How?!"

"I don't know." Ward said, grabbing for his pants that were on the edge of the bed. "But get your normal clothes on and be prepared to run at any moment. But hide in the bathroom for the time being. I'll deal with them." He said, slipping his pants on.

"Ward, I can defend myself." Skye said. "You know that. I don't want to be hiding while you're throwing your life away."

Ward walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes, "Skye, I know that. I've seen you fight. But I don't want you somehow ending up bringing down the whole building. There's innocent families here. I know you can protect yourself, but if your powers get out of control you could possibly create a massive earthquake.

And I don't want you getting hurt." he continued. "It's better me than you."

Skye gulped, "Ward,"

"I'll be fine. Go hide. I will tell you when it's okay. But be prepared to run." Ward said.

Skye took a breath, "Fine. But please be careful, Sparky. Don't want you dying now."

Ward gave her a slight smile, "I'll be fine, I promise."

Skye took one last hesitant glance at him before grabbing her clothes and running into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Ward gulped and started to slip on his boots. If Hydra was really here, they were in trouble. But how did they find them so fast? That's what was worrying him. He reached for his beloved black leather jacket and slipped it on.

He felt the air around him start to heat up as he slipped out the door and into the dead of night. The armored men were off to the side, examining another building. Ward hid beside a car and leaned to the sid to get a look at them.

As they approached, he saw the multi-limbed insignia on their armor. He gulped, it was Hydra. He clenched his fists and he felt them rapidly heat up as the dark-red flames blazed to life, dancing up and down his arms.

He bolted from the safety of behind the car and ran towards the soldiers, arms ablaze. The soldiers, which were about nine in number, spun around and started to fire at him. He sent flames at one, engulfing the soldier and burning him to ashes.

Ward faced the other soldiers, the flames heating the air. He knew that the soldiers were gonna burn before they hurt him or Skye. The flames of hell burned from the body of a mere mortal, and the dead of night would know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the reception coming!


	5. Chapter Five (You Shouldn't Play With Fire)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward fights the Hydra soldiers; Coulson finds more about 'Hellfire'.

The soldiers held their ground against the sight of the burning man. But as Ward came barreling towards them, the flames growing larger and hotter, they started to back away and fire at him.

Ward grimaced as a bullet grazed his forehead, the skin ripping open. He lunged towards one soldier, grabbing him with his burning hands. The soldier screamed as his black Kevlar caught on fire and his skin started to bubble and burn from the heat of the hellfire.

A supernatural light shone in Ward's anger filled eyes as he slammed the burning soldier to the ground, "Leave us alone!" he screamed. "Go the hell away!"

Ward turned to glare at the seven remaining soldiers, all who backed away at the sight of him. The dark-red flames burning off of him and the red, unnatural light in his eyes made him appear to be a demon.

The soldier who laid burning on the ground was now dead, nothing but a burnt corpse.

But instead of backing down, the soldiers all aimed their guns at Ward. "We have you surrounded!" one yelled. "Surrender now or we will shoot to kill!"

Ward snarled, "What makes you think that I'll surrender?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Why are you even chasing us anyways? We aren't even doing anything. Leave us alone."

"We have orders to bring two freaks of nature in." another soldier laughed. "And they're going to be cut up and looked at like the freaks they are."

Ward face fell, "What was that?" he growled.

"Freaks of nature."

Ward really didn't remember what happened next, but he did remember the flames consuming his body. The soldiers all froze in fear at the sight of the monster of flame that stood before them. They started to run, but Ward lunged forward and grabbed two by the necks. The two soldiers started to scream as the flames ate at their body and they started to slowly burn to death as Ward dropped them.

Five Hydra soldiers left.

Ward shot a ball of flame at one that was trying to run away. The flames consumed the soldier and burnt him to a crisp. Ward spun and shot at two more, incinerating them as well.

He looked around through blurred, red-tinted vision, seeing only one soldier left, running towards the road. There were two, where did the other one go? Ward shot towards the one soldier and grabbed him as well, holding him in his burning grip as the flames consumed the man and left him as a burnt, charred corpse.

The flames died off of Ward as his sudden anger subsided. He blinked, trying to get a hold of reality. He looked around at the charred corpses, piles of ashes, and heaps of melted, twisted metal. He started to feel sick.

He looked down as his hands, they were starting to shake. Six men were dead by his hand, one missing. But he shouldn't feel bad since they were Hydra and he killed them trying to protect himself and Skye, right? He didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it.

He heard sirens in the far-off distance and frowned, they needed to get moving, now. Ward ran off to the room he and Skye were staying in. They couldn't stay much longer.

* * *

Skye hid in the somewhat clean shower of the motel room bathroom, anxiously waiting for Ward to come back. She had heard screaming and gunfire. Ward had also been gone for a long while, and she was afraid that he wasn't going to come back.

Then she heard something slam in the room outside of the bathroom and hurried footsteps. She started to shake, but trying to hold her powers back. The door rattled from the force of a frantic knock.

"Skye?! Are you in there?!"

Skye sighed in relief, it was Ward. And he sounded okay at that too. She jumped out of the shower and grabbed her bag and then opened the door. The sight of Ward almost scared her. He was sweating, his eyes were glassy, and a gash on his forehead was sending blood down his face. He looked horrible. "Grant?" she asked.

Ward grabbed her arm, "Skye, there's no time." he said quickly. "Get your things, we need to go."

Skye followed Ward past the beds, where he snatched up his own bag, "What about the soldiers?" she asked.

"All dead." Ward gruffly stated, walking out quickly into the cool night air and over to the car.

"Dead?" Skye asked, her stomach dropping. "Did you?"

Ward motioned to the burned corpses and piles of ashes, "Yes, does that matter?" he asked. "We need to go before the cops show up. Then we would be in trouble big time." He got into the driver's seat of the car.

Skye opened the door to the passenger's seat and slid in, shutting the door. She glanced hesitantly at Ward as he fired up the car and gunned it out of the parking lot. She looked back towards the motel as she saw the flashing lights of police cars approaching it. She slunked down into the seat as Ward sped the car off into the night.

Was this going to be the rest of her life? Constantly dodging Hydra and SHIELD, always on the run?

* * *

(The Next Day, Playground Base.)

"Now that's strange." Coulson muttered. "Really strange."  
"What's strange?" a British voice asked from behind him. Coulson turned around to see Hunter and Fitz walking into his office. "And do you have that thing you want Fitz to work on?"

He gestured to the screen behind his desk where a news report from Kentucky was covering a crime scene. "This. And no, I don't have it just yet." he said.

"What's that?" Fitz asked.

"A crime scene in a small town in Kentucky at a motel. Gunfire and screams were heard about two in the morning. Police were called where five burnt corpses were found in the parking lot. From what remains, police figured that they were Hydra." Coulson explained.

"Hydra?" Hunter asked. "Why is Hydra in rural Kentucky?"

"Probably because of this." Coulson pulled up a dark, grainy photo of what seemed to be a man consumed in fire. "Witnesses report a tall man suddenly catching on fire and attacking the armed men, which all came out of nowhere."

"Man? That looks more like a demon to me." Hunter said.

"Is it that Hellfire guy?" Fitz asked.

"It's a possibility." Coulson said. "I've sent some agents there to investigate. Because if he was there, there's a possibility that Skye was there too. Hopefully they can find something that tells us that she was there, or even who Hellfire really is."

"If they were there," Hunter began. "They're probably long gone by now. That was two this morning."

"I know, but if we can figure out something, we can eventually find Skye." Coulson said with a sigh. "And if Hydra's after her and this Hellfire guy, this is a race we definitely want to win. I do not want to lose her, not to Hydra."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still, thanks for all the reception!


	6. Chapter Six (Bloodied and Hellbound)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward reveals some things to Skye, and he also discovers that they are being tracked.

For the next two hours, Ward continued speeding down the rural Tennessee roads until he found another small motel that they could stop at for just a while to rest before taking off again. He pulled into the parking lot and parked the car, storming out of it and into the motel's office. He came back with a pair of keys to get Skye and their bags.

As they went into the room, Ward slammed the door behind them.

"Grant?" Skye asked. "Are you ok?"

"No, why should I be?" Ward growled. "What freakshow did I pull myself into?"

He pulled off his shirt, revealing two bullet wounds.

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.  
"I should've stayed all to myself after I ran off." Ward spat, pulling out the first aid equipment. "I shouldn't messed with Hydra."

"Grant." Skye said calmly. "Calm down. Let's just get you cleaned up first."

Ward huffed, "Fine." He sat down on the bed, allowing just enough room for Skye to sit down and tend to the wounds on his chest.

Skye examined the scars that crisscrossed his bare torso, "Where are these all from?" she asked quietly.

"Honestly, I don't even know anymore." Ward said. "Several of them are from Garrett. He would beat the crap out of me, and I allowed him. A lot of the beatings ended up literally scaring me. A few are from SHIELD missions, a few are from Hydra fights from the past few months." His eyes drifted down to a series of small, round scars that peppered his right side near his lungs. "And these…"

"They're from where I shot you." Skye said quietly.

Ward tensed up, still tender with the subject, "And for no reason too." he said.  
"Grant, I'm sorry." Skye said. "I wasn't thinking right."

"Because all you could think about was getting that damn Obelisk!" Ward yelled, standing to his feet. "You were rash! You left me for dead, Skye!"

"Grant, I'm sorry. I know I was rash." Skye said. "For some reason, the Obelisk was the only thing that mattered. And I was still really mad at you,"

"Don't even say anything! Why am I even here? I-I, I don't even love you anymore! I moved on! Once you shot me, I realized that there was no hope between us, that there was nothing between us anymore. I moved on, believe it or not." Ward yelled. "Why am I taking it upon myself to protect you if I don't even love you anymore? Why did I care so much for you that I risked myself to bring you to your father? That was a promise I should've forgotten when I realized that you no longer cared for me back in the Vault."

"Grant, please calm down." Skye said softly, startled by Ward's revelation. "You're just irritated by the Hydra attack from earlier, please."

"It's not just that! I am risking my life every single damn second now to protect someone that doesn't even love me. Someone I don't even love anymore. My insane obsession with still trying to please Coulson turned me into a monster, threw me into a manhunt that would last my entire life.

I wasn't even planning on looking for you. I knew you left SHIELD, I didn't even care anymore. But when I saw that Hydra report and I knew it was someone from Coulson's team, something in my mind told me to help, even if I really don't want to. I shouldn't have listened to my gut. I would be safe right now. I could've just found me a safe place to live and I would've been fine. But I had to care. I should've stopped caring long ago."

Skye didn't know what to say. "Grant… I would be dead right now if you didn't care. Or I would've been overrun by those agents and possibly could've taken out the town with a massive earthquake. You do care, you're not capable of not caring. I'm still here because you cared. You may not love me anymore, but you do care. Like how you did with the team."

Ward gulped, "I-I…. I don't know. I just wish I left everything alone. I wouldn't be this mess I am. I should've left everything behind years ago, when Garrett found me. I should've just had run, far away."

Skye blinked slowly, looking to the floor, "Grant, you'll be fine. We have each other now."

"How is that gonna matter with anything?" Ward asked. "How is that gonna help?"

"I… I don't know." Skye said softly. "But we'll find a way, I promise. Now sit down so I can clean up those wounds before they get infected. And take deep breaths, you'll be fine."

Ward gulped and took a slow, deep breath, "Fine." he said, sitting back down. He winced as cold peroxide stung the two wounds. "But, how did they find us?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know." Skye replied. "But I think that we're safe for now."

Ward nodded softly, starting to regret the things that he had said in his bout of anger. The things he really didn't mean. Of course he still loved Skye, even if it was just slightly. And he did care. His anger distorted his thoughts in the moment. But he did wish that he had just found a quiet place to live instead of trying to fight Hydra alone.

He had dragged himself into a hell he would probably never escape, a hell that he had drug Skye into along with him.

* * *

(A Few Hours Later)

Ward watched from the edge of his bed as Skye laid sleeping on her bed. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, still trying to completely calm down from a few hours earlier. He still didn't get it. How did Hydra find them so fast?

Then it clicked.

He went over to Skye's bag and started digging through it, finding the clothes that she had worn the day he had found her.

"Sparky? What are you doing in my bag?" he heard asked sleepily.

Ward turned to see Skye sitting up groggily, "I think I just figured out how Hydra found us so fast."

"By my clothes?" Skye asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"In a way." Ward said, examining her blouse she had worn. "I had a feeling that, somehow, Hydra tagged you."

"Tagged me?! When?!"

"When they attacked you at that diner. They probably somehow managed to tag you and you didn't notice."

"What?"

Ward kept looking over the black blouse until a small, red light caught his eye. "Found it." he muttered, plucking off the small device.

"Found what?" Skye asked, worried.

Ward held the device between his index finger and his thumb and showed Skye, "This." he said gruffly.

It was a small, round, black device with a small, blinking, red light. A tracker.

"They did tag you. That's how they followed us."

"And then that means that.." Skye began.

"They're still tracking us. We've got to make another run for it, now." Ward stated gruffly. "I'll deal with this little bastard. Get ready to go, quickly."

Skye nodded and slid off of the bed, grabbing her bag and zipping it back up.

Ward stood up slowly, clenching the tracker in his fist. His fist erupted into flames, incinerating the tracker into nothing. How could he be so stupid? Why did it take him so long to figure out that they had been tagged?

He clenched his teeth, trying not to let the flames to take him over again. The flames snuffed out and he turned to grab his bag without a word. He followed Skye and stormed out of the motel room.

They jumped into the car and Ward sped it away, unaware of the two dangers that they would soon confront. SHIELD and Hydra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the reception coming!


	7. Chapter Seven (Those We Least Expect)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team's track down of 'Hellfire' and Skye leads them straight to no other than Ward.

(SHIELD Playground, A Few Hours Later.)

"Thanks to the tracker that was found at the Hydra-Motel murder scene, Mack and Fitz were able to hack into a Hydra signal with it and pinpoint the signal, similar to this tracker, that Hydra is following." Coulson said, looking at his team. "Mack, Fitz, if one of you two would explain."

"Well you see," Fitz began. "Ah, the, uh, uh… Mack?"

"The origin." Mack said. "Fitz, I'll explain for the both of us."

"Thanks."

"The origin of the second signal is the motel, then it heads off southeast towards North Carolina." Mack explained. "So what we can figure is, whoever Hydra was following was tagged at the motel and is being tracked. We were able to hack into that same signal, so we can follow it as well, using the tracker that another agent found at the scene."

Coulson nodded, "And we'll be going." he said.

"Who's 'we'?" Hunter asked.

"Mack and Fitzsimmons will stay here to keep watching the signal." Coulson replied. "And May volunteered to stay here as well to help out. So it will be me, you, and Bobbi. We don't want to have too many people with this. We're just assuming that this signal is Hellfire and Skye, we could just be running straight into a Hydra trap. We want to be able to run fast."

"Great." Hunter muttered.

"Do we even know who this Hellfire guy is yet?" Simmons asked. "And why is he with Skye?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know." Bobbi added in.

"No, we don't. That's why we need to be really careful." May said. "There's no telling if he could be a crazy psychopath keeping Skye with him against her will."

"Exactly." Coulson said, looking at Hunter and Bobbi. "You two, we're moving out soon. We want to follow this signal before it disappears. We don't want this slipping out of our hands."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

(Elsewhere.)

Ward drove in complete silence. He nor Skye had said a word to each other in the past two hours, not since the tracker incident and Ward's outburst. It had been completely quiet.

Ward gulped and looked over to Skye, "Skye," he finally said. "I'm sorry for earlier."

Skye shook her head softly, "It's not your fault." she said. "You have all the right to be mad at me. I was rash. And it didn't help that I brought it up when you were still fuming about the Hydra fight."

"But I still took everything way too far." Ward said. "I said things that I didn't mean."

Skye's heart skipped a beat, "Does that mean you still love me?" she asked.

Ward's grew flustered, "No, I'm not saying,"

"Yes, you are."

"Yes, I do still love you." Ward said softly, trying to keep his eyes on the road. "It just may not be as strong as it was. And I know that you don't love me back…"

"Sparky, it's going to take a long while for me to ever feel that way towards you again." Skye said. "A really long time."

"I know."

Skye sighed, "Look, we'll be fine. You know, I haven't had a horrible nightmare in a few days because of you."

Ward frowned, not looking over, "What?" he asked.

"You would've known it. One of the motels would've collapsed because of a massive earthquake I caused in my sleep. I have nightmares about the transformation, about Trip's death, about being caught and tortured just like my mother. For some reason, I haven't had them in a while. Maybe it's because of you."

Ward chuckled, "Sure it is." he said. "I don't think,"

"It's true."

Ward rolled his eyes, weariness showing in his face.

"Never mind. You look tired."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are, you need more sleep." Skye said.  
"I don't."

"Come on, Grant. You need some rest. Either you're gonna have to stop at a motel just for the night or let me drive, and you don't want me driving."

"We're not,"

"I think we've got enough distance." Skye said. "And I don't think there's a tracker this time. And it's just for the night, we'll leave first thing in the morning."

Ward sighed, "Fine."

Ward drove for at least thirty minutes until they arrived in a small town where there was a decent looking motel. He pulled into the parking lot, parked, and went it. He came back a few minutes later with keys and Skye got their bags and they went to their room.

The next several hours were really quiet. Both Ward and Skye slept through the night. Ward awoke about 5 the next morning and left Skye sleeping to get them some breakfast. He thought everything was going perfectly fine, but he didn't know what waited for him when he got back.

* * *

(About an Hour Later, the Motel Parking Lot)

Coulson, Bobbi, and Hunter sat in a black van, positioned near the room where they found where Skye was staying at. They had tracked the signal to here, where it stopped the night before, giving them plenty of time to catch up to it. All they had to do was wait for the perfect time.

"Isn't there supposed to be a bloke with her?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, I think I saw him leave an hour ago." Bobbi said. "He'll have to come back soon."

"Then we'll confront him." Coulson said. "And hopefully bring Skye back, if she even wants to come back."

"I hope this doesn't go south." Hunter said. "Considering what the bloke did to those Hydra agents back in Kentucky."

"Maybe we can reason with him." Coulson said.

Bobbi frowned, looking out towards the motel building out of the window, "Coulson, there's a man at 10 o'clock." she said. "Tall and black-haired, just like the man that left the room earlier."

Coulson nodded, "Slip out of the van quietly, and make sure that you have your guns ready." he ordered.

Bobbi and Hunter both nodded and the three SHIELD agents slipped out of the van and into the parking lot. They hid behind a car, watching the tall man. They couldn't see his face, but could make out his other features.

He wore a black leather jacket, jeans, and boots. He held a bag from a local restaurant in his hand. Coulson frowned, something about this man seemed familiar.

The man approached the door to the room that Skye was in. Coulson chose this time to approach him.

"Freeze!" Coulson yelled.  
"Freeze?" Hunter asked. "We're not cops."

Coulson rolled his eyes, pointing his gun at the man, "Well, turn around and show yourself, and we won't shoot. We know one of my agents is in there."

The man dropped the bag, slowly holding his hands up, "Damn it." he muttered. "You know she isn't with you anymore."

Coulson gulped, "Turn around!" he yelled.

Coulson heard the man sigh as he started to turn around. Coulson almost dropped his ICER as he saw who the man was.

Ward.

Ward still held his hands in the air, obviously unarmed, "Coulson." he said coldly. "What the hell do you want?"  
Bobbi and Hunter were obviously confused. "Coulson, isn't that?" Bobbi asked.

Coulson nodded, "Ward. What the hell are you doing here?"


	8. Chapter Eight (Thou Art a Sin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward confronts Coulson, and Skye has to intervene.

"What does it look like I am doing?" Ward growled through clenched teeth, glaring at Coulson, Bobbi, and Lance. "I'm here with Skye."

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "'With'?" he asked. "Or did you kidnap her again?"

"I did not kidnap her!" Ward yelled. "She came willingly with me!"

"Why would she do that?" Coulson asked coldly.

"Because she had nowhere else to go. I happened to be in the area when Hydra first attacked her. I offered to protect her, we were both being pursued by you and by Hydra." Ward explained, trying to keep his anger down. "She was afraid and I gave her a way."

Coulson didn't say anything. Bobbi and Hunter frowned, feeling the air temperature start to rise for no reason.

"And we've been perfectly fine the past like five days. Nothing's happened." Ward growled. "Other than the fact that we've been pursued constantly by Hydra and I was shot two time back in Tennessee."

Coulson frowned, "Tennessee?" he asked. "It wouldn't happen to be a motel where several Hydra agents were found dead and completely burned, would it?" he asked.

Ward blinked, "So what if it was?"

"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"And so what if I did?" Ward growled. "What does that matter?"  
"'Cause we've been looking for a gifted that we've assumed to be with Skye the past couple of days." Coulson responded, tightening his grip on his gun. "Can control fire. Does that somehow happen to be you?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

Coulson's face twitched, "Step aside, Ward, before we have to shoot." he stated. "You're not staying with Skye any longer. We're bringing you in."

Ward's eyes widened in anger and he stepped in front of the door, "You are not doing anything!" he growled. "All you are going to do is go the hell away and leave us alone! She doesn't want to be with you. She left for a reason and she's perfectly fine with me!"

"Step aside, Ward!" Coulson ordered.

Ward stepped forward, clenching his fist. It erupted in hellfire, "I don't take orders from you anymore!" he barked. "Now go the hell away!"

Hunter blinked, taking a step back, "Well… That's… Interesting…" he muttered.

Bobbi gripped her gun and aimed it back at Ward.

Coulson blinked and gulped, "Ward, don't do this." he said quietly.

"Then go away and leave us alone." Ward growled. "She's perfectly fine with me. And what use is it for her to go back when all that you're gonna do is ostracize her?" he asked. "Like before she left? She doesn't want to go back. How many times do I have to tell you?!"

"Until I believe it." Coulson snapped. "I am not believing a single, damn word you say. Your words have no meaning, no importance."

Ward clenched his fists again and the flames shot out towards the three agents, barely missing them by a few inches. "Don't ever say anything like that to me again." he hissed. "I'm done with your crap."

(Inside.)

Skye awoke to the sound of a massive commotion outside of the motel room. She groggily got up and slipped on her normal clothes, going to see what the hell was going on. She frowned, stopping right in front of the door. Was that Ward yelling? And there was another voice that was awfully familiar.

She gulped and opened the door.

"You have no-" a man began.

Skye stopped frozen behind Ward. There stood Coulson, Bobbi, and Hunter, all in front of Ward.

"Skye." Coulson said as Skye stood beside Ward. "You're ok."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Skye asked. "Is it because I'm with Ward? Is that it?"

"I'm not,"

"Yes, you are." Skye cut in. "Coulson, why are you here?" she asked.

"We've come to bring you home."

"Bring me home?" Skye asked, almost disgusted. "I don't have a home. I'm not going back with you. I'm pretty sure that Grant already addressed that with you."

"You're on a first name basis again?" Coulson asked.

"Yeah, so?" Skye questioned. "Why does that matter? He's protected me. He's helped me, I've helped him. Coulson, he's the only one that's treated me as a equal in the past several months. He probably also knows how it feels to have something wrong with you that you can't control. Do you want to know the reason why I won't go back with you?" she asked.

Coulson blinked slowly, but didn't say anything in response.

"I was tired of being treated as an outcast." she said. "After my transformation or whatever and Trip's death, you all avoided me. Then you tried turning me into a weapon to use against Hydra. I am not a weapon, I'm not going to be used like that."

Bobbi looked to Coulson, "She's got a point."

"Skye, look, I'm sorry. I know I went crazy with that." Coulson said. "But,"

"But nothing." Skye cut in. "Coulson, that doesn't change anything. I don't want to come back, not now. Maybe eventually, but now isn't the time. I want time alone, with Ward. With someone that will treat me right. I'm sorry, Coulson. Bobbi. Lance. Now's not the time."

Coulson hesitated but then nodded. He didn't say anything.

Ward turned to look at Skye, "Skye, go back inside. I still have a few things to say to him." he said.

"Sure, Sparky." Skye said. She looked back to Coulson, "Sorry. But I promise eventually." she said, going in and shutting the door.

"That went well." Hunter commented.

Ward turned his attention back to Coulson, anger still flaring in his eyes, "Listen, if I see you back here again I will not hesitate to burn you. I may not kill you, but I'll still burn you." he hissed.

"Settle down there hothead." Hunter grumbled.

Ward's eyes shot to Hunter, "Shut it cowboy." he growled.

"Cowboy?!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Like I didn't notice you on that bus in Georgia horribly dressed as a cowboy when you were hunting me down."

Hunter threw his hands up.

Ward looked back to Coulson, "Like I said, we're fine. We don't need you around here. Get the hell out of here and leave us alone." The flames briefly flared up again, "Or I won't hesitate to burn you." he spat, turning around and going into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Yeah, that totally went well." Hunter mumbled.

Bobbi sighed and looked to Coulson, "What are we going to do now?" she asked. "Are we going to leave?"

"No." Coulson said. "We're not. We're gonna keep an eye on them until they leave. It's not Skye that worries me, it's Ward. I don't know what happened to him, but he's somehow that Hellfire guy. I won't hesitate to bring him in. We'll watch them until they leave. And if we have to, we'll take Ward out and bring him in."

"And what about Skye?" Hunter asked.

"She'll have to come with us if that happens." Coulson responded. "I don't want her all by herself. Hell, not even with Ward. She may think that he's good for her, but he's not. He's crazy, unstable. She isn't safe with him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming guys!


	9. Chapter Ten (It Never Ends Well)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye goes to talk to Coulson. And Ward's not in the best mental state.

Skye winced as Ward slammed the motel room behind them. "We're leaving, now." he stated coldly. "Grab your things and let's go."

"Grant, I think that we need to wait a bit." Skye said calmly. "Until you settle down."

"And you want to be captured by Coulson?! You want to sit around until he comes back and takes you against your will and has me locked up again?" Ward growled, anger flaring in his eyes. "Do you?!"

"No, I don't." Skye responded. "But I don't think that Coulson will do that. He keeps his promises towards me. He if tries to do anything, I'll take care of it. He'll listen to me. And they're probably leaving soon."

Ward snarled, "Yeah, he won't leave." he scoffed. "He's probably gonna stay here until we both leave. Hell, he'll probably follow us after that. Skye, he's not gonna stop. You know Coulson, he's persistent. He won't leave us alone."

"Again, if he tries anything, I'll take care of it." Skye said. "I can handle Coulson."

"Then what? He'll try something, I just know it." Ward hissed. "He'll have the both of us knock out against our will and have us drug back to the SHIELD base or whatever. You'll have it easy. I'll be locked away, treated like an animal again. And it'll probably be worse this time because of what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you, Grant." Skye said softly, placing a hand on Ward's shoulder.

Ward knocked her hand off, "Skye, stop pretending that nothing is wrong with us. We're not human. There is something wrong with us. It's not normal to be walking around with the ability to create a massive earthquake out of nowhere or the ability to create unearthly fire out of damn nowhere! We're not normal!"

"Grant, that doesn't matter! It doesn't matter what's wrong with us! You've got to calm down before you burn down the whole building. Yes, we're different." Skye said sternly. "I accept that. And I know that I will always be looked at strangely by others if they know what's wrong with me. You've got to accept it too. Grant, do me a favor and calm down. Everything's gonna be okay."

Ward blinked, trying to take a deep breath, but the anger was too much. Skye frowned, seeing complete exhaustion in his eyes.

"Grant, did you sleep last night?" she asked softly.

"Yeah? Why?" he asked.

"You look exhausted."

"It's nothing."

"It's like eight in the morning, you shouldn't look like that. Are you sure you slept last night?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Skye pointed to the bed, "Rest." she stated. "Something's up and it looks like you need more sleep."

"I'm not going to sleep when Coulson's still around!" Ward snapped.

"We're fine. Coulson isn't going to do anything anytime soon. We've got plenty of time on our hands. Rest. I'll wake you up when I think that we need to go."

"I'm not,"

"Now, Ward."

"Fine." Ward hissed, lying down in his bed and not saying another word.

Skye frowned, she knew something was up with him. Ward usually wasn't this easily angered. She had seen this rage before, with the Berserker Staff incident like last year or so. Was it possible that it was coming back and his newfound powers were messing with it?

Skye shuddered, she hoped not.

It didn't take Ward long to slip into a deep sleep. Skye sat on the edge of her bed, listening to Ward's heavy breathing. Something itched in the back of her mind about the whole Coulson incident.

She really didn't get to say what she wanted to really say because of Ward. She just wanted to talk to Coulson, to be honest with him so he could really understand how she felt about everything.

Skye stood up with a deep sigh, she was going to talk to Coulson, without Ward. Hopefully Coulson, Bobbi, and Hunter were still around since the confrontation was just thirty minutes ago. She took a hesitant glance at Ward's sleeping form. Hopefully he wouldn't get too mad at her once he found out, but hopefully he would stay asleep just long enough.

* * *

Coulson stood outside of the black van, getting ready to leave when he heard Skye's voice call out.

"Coulson."

Coulson turned around to see Skye coming up, alone. "Skye, what are you doing?" he asked. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with us."

Skye sighed, seeing Bobbi and Hunter come out of the van, "I just wanted to talk, without Ward." she said.

"Where is the hotheaded bloke anyways?" Hunter asked.

"He's inside, sleeping. Something's wrong with him." Skye responded. "After his little rant, he looked extremely exhausted, like he didn't sleep at all. He told me that he had slept last night. I told him to get some rest and he didn't take long to fall asleep."

Coulson looked off to the side. He knew what was probably happening, but he didn't say anything. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I just want to explain myself a little more." Skye said. "That's all. It doesn't mean that I'm coming back. I just want to talk."

Coulson nodded, "Sure. Are we gonna talk here or?" he asked.

Skye pointed down the street, "I think there's a diner a block over. We can talk over some coffee or something." she said.

"That sounds good." Bobbi said.  
Coulson nodded again, "Yes, it does." he said. "We can talk."

Skye gave a small, unsure smile, "Good. I just want you to understand why I won't come back anytime soon."

* * *

(About an Hour Later.)

Ward awoke slowly from his heavy sleep that only lasted an hour. He sat up slowly and groggily, blinking and looking around the room. He frowned, Skye wasn't there.

He swung his feet over the bed. His mind was fuzzy and he couldn't remember much from earlier. What had happened? He remembered Coulson and an argument, then Skye telling him to go to sleep.

But where was Skye? She should be here? Where did she go? Ward did another sweep of the room, his eyes resting on a folded-up piece of paper on the nightstand between the two beds. He picked it up and began to read it.

' _Grant, I've gone to talk to Coulson again. I just want to really explain why I won't be going back to the base anytime soon. I'm letting you sleep because I think there's something wrong with you, you're either sick or something else is wrong. Sleep it off, you'll be fine. I'll be back soon and we can leave. Don't come looking for me 'cause I don't know what Coulson will do if you show back up. I'll be fine. -Skye"_

A muscle twitched in Ward's face and he crumpled the note up in his fist, anger building back up. Why would Skye go back to Coulson to talk to him? She had already told him that she wasn't going back. Why did there have to be further explanation?

He stuffed the note in his pocket in building anger. Everything started to become muddled and fuzzy again. He couldn't make sense of anything. Then came the yelling, not from him, but from outside.

The door to the room burst open. Ward spun around in his muddled rage to see three Hydra soldiers standing there, guns pointed towards him. Hydra had found them once again, and he was separated from Skye. This wouldn't end well.

Ward's face twitched in anger as he erupted into hellfire and ran towards the soldiers, bullets blazing past him. The rage consumed him again as he attacked the soldiers with the flames of hell. Nothing ever ends well, does it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming!


	10. Chapter Ten (Hell Doesn't Need Me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra ends up attacking the group.

Skye nodded as the waitress as she gave them their coffee. The waitress smiled and left them alone. Skye turned back to Coulson.

"So, Skye, what are you going to say?" Coulson asked, staring at the cup of coffee. "Other than that you're not coming back anytime soon."

"I just wanted to further explain myself." Skye said. "Without Ward being here."

Coulson nodded, "Go ahead."  
"I know tensions were heavy after Trip's death and everything that happened in the city, but I couldn't stand how I was treated like an outcast. Look, I know that I'm not human, but I was being treated like a monster. Everyone was avoiding me, wouldn't even look me in the eye." Skye explained. "I was left totally alone.

And then when I almost brought down the entire base because of a nightmare I had, it only got worse. Coulson, that's when you fully realized the extent of my powers. You became obsessed with trying to turn me into some kind of weapon to use against Hydra. That isn't me. I wasn't going to be used like that.

That's why I left, because I was treated like an outcast and the fact I was wanted to used as a weapon. I couldn't handle it any longer, I couldn't even handle a goodbye."

Coulson sighed, "Skye, I'm sorry. Honestly, I am. I didn't know how you felt about everything. Yes, times were hard, but that wasn't an excuse for me to be an ass." he said.

"Skye," Hunter began. "I'm gonna be honest with you. I was afraid of you. Not at first, but after the earthquake I did. And there was no reason for me to be doing that. You're a great person and friend, I shouldn't have treated you like an unearthly creature. Skye, if you had said something, I would've probably stopped."

"Yeah. Skye, you could've told us and pointed out our mistakes. I'm sure we would've stopped." Bobbi agreed.

"They're both right." Coulson said. "Don't be afraid to speak up and say something about our actions. We're all regretting out actions, and I know we would've stopped."

"I'm still not coming back anytime soon." Skye said.

"And I know that, and I respect your decision." Coulson said.

"Thank you. I just want to have longer by myself to come to terms with my abilities and a few other things."

Coulson blinked slowly, "Skye, do you truly mean 'by yourself' or are you going off with Ward?" he asked.

"Coulson, he's not going to hurt me, you saw that." Skye stated.

"Yes, I know. I know he's not going to hurt you willingly. Skye, I rather have you by yourself than continue to be with Ward. Something's wrong with him and he's going to end up hurting you."

"I know something's wrong with him."

"Skye, I know he's a little hotheaded, but not like that." Coulson said. "Something's up. He almost killed us, and I don't think that he would normally do that. Skye, I think it's like last year, but worse."

"You mean the Berserker incident?" Skye asked.

"Exactly."

Hunter raised an eyebrow, "The who what now?" he asked.

"Last year, after the alien invasion of Greenwich, we came in contact with an Asgardian staff that cause extreme rage and strength. Ward had the unfortunate luck of touching it. One, messy scene later, Ward was supposively left with hidden rage, according to an Asgardian professor we worked with.

I'm guessing whatever happened to him and gave him those abilities is messing with that and making that rage worse." Coulson looked back at Skye, "Skye, I'm afraid you're going around with a walking time bomb."

Skye took a breath, "I think he'll be fine." she said. "He's fine normally, only when something comes up…"  
"But if something happens, you say the wrong thing or he gets out of control." Coulson cut in. "He may end up hurting you or worse, killing you."

Skye looked off to the side, not knowing what to say.

"Look, Skye, I know that he wants to protect you." Coulson said. "But something's wrong with him, and that may be the death of him, you, or the both of you."

"We'll both be fine," Skye began. "I don't think-"  
BANG. BANG. BANG.

Skye didn't get to finish her statement. Gunshots filled the air and diner patrons started scrambling for cover.

Hunter's eyes widened, "Hydra. It's Hydra."  
Skye and Coulson turned around to see several men, at least seven, in black Kevlar storming into the diner.

Bobbi and Hunter jumped out of the booth, grabbing for their ICERs that hung by their sides.

"Skye, get down!" Coulson roared, pushing Skye under the table and joining Hunter and Bobbi. "We'll handle this!" He pulled out his own ICER.

Skye watched in horror from under the table as the three agents were risking their lives to protect her. They were going to die, for her. And what about Ward? If Hydra was here, they had possibly found him already. He could be dead.

Fear overcame her, they were all going to die.

* * *

(Sometime Later.)

Ward watched as the last of the three soldiers burned to a crisp, his screams slowly fading away. Where they all gone? He didn't know.

Ward's mind was still muddled from the rage, his vision blurry. As the flames snuffed out, he grimaced in pain. He clutched his side. Bringing his hand back up, he saw that it was covered in blood. He had been shot and he didn't notice.

He looked around the half-burned motel room in his blur of rage. They had to leave soon. But was Skye okay? Thoughts mixed together and her couldn't think straight. Everything was a blur of pain and rage.

He heard sirens off in the distance, along with screams and gunfire. Something else was going on nearby. Was Coulson still here? Was Skye with him? Was Hydra attacking them? Everything blurred together.

Ward tried to keep steady as the pain in his side grew. He figured that he would bleed out sooner or later. Then the ground started to shake. Was he hallucinating?

But then the shaking grew fiercer and fiercer. One thought popped into his muddled mind. Skye. Something was happening to Skye. This was an earthquake.

A picture fell off of the wall and shattered on the ground. Ward couldn't keep himself steady anymore, he fell to the ground as the shaking grew worse. He grabbed onto the edge of one of the beds and pulled himself up. He grabbed the bags they had and ran out into the parking lot, ignoring the pain in his side.

He watched as everything was shaking and people ran screaming for cover. A loud explosion sounded as a power pole came crashing down and the transformer blew. He threw the bags quickly inside of the car. An earthquake of this magnitude only meant one thing, something happened to Skye. She was in danger.

He ran towards the source of the gunfire he had heard earlier, his mind still a mess. He screamed out, leaving one word echoing against the shifting of the Earth. "Skye!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming!


	11. Chapter Eleven (Burning to the Ground)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra captures Skye and Ward starts to lose it.

Coulson fired several shots at the oncoming soldiers, only a few of them hitting one of them. The soldier fell to the ground unconscious, but many more remained. More had joined the original seven soldiers in the small diner.

The fight had moved outside, unfortunately. Skye still hid under cover by Coulson's orders. Coulson didn't want Skye getting harmed. But it was eleven against three. This wasn't going to end well, at all.

Hunter charged at two soldiers, firing at the both of them. They both were hit with the ICER bullets and fell unconscious with a thud to the ground. He spun around to aim at another, but a white-hot, searing pain lanced through his shoulder. A bullet. He had been shot.

His ICER clattered to the ground with an echoing thud and he dropped to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

"Lance!" Bobbi screamed, firing at the soldier that had shot Hunter. The soldier fell to the ground, unconscious. She ran over to Hunter's side through all of the chaos.

Coulson fired at another soldier, but another one came out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. Skye couldn't take doing nothing any longer as she watched the soldier bring Coulson down. She jumped out from the safety of her hiding spot and ran towards the battlefield.

Coulson struggled underneath the soldier's grip, "Skye. What the hell are you doing?! Hide!" he yelled. "I don't want you-" A fist rocketed into his jaw, sending pain lancing up the side of his face.

Skye watched the oncoming soldiers, "Coulson, I can't just stand by and do nothing as you're all getting beat to a pulp!" she exclaimed. "I have to do something!" She thrust out her hand towards two soldiers.

The ground rumbled beneath them and started to crumble. The soldiers screamed as they fell through the Earth, never to be seen again. But there were still six soldiers against them. Coulson was busy fighting against one soldier and Bobbi was busy trying to stop the bleeding in Hunter's soldier.

Skye was all alone.

She braced herself as two soldiers ran towards her. She thrust her hand out once more and the two soldiers disappeared from sight. She thought that they were winning, until she felt a hand fiercely grip her arm.

Coulson struggled against the soldier, sending a fist into his somewhat armored gut. But it still caught the soldier off guard and Coulson was able to throw the Hydra agent off of him. He jumped to his feet, aiming his ICER towards the man.

But he froze, a single cry broke through the gunfire, the ground starting to quake.

"Coulson! Help me!"

Coulson spun around, seeing Skye, restrained by two soldiers, being slowly drug away. "Skye! Skye!" he screamed, starting to run forward, but the soldier on the ground pulled him down.

The ground was now starting to shake even worse, an effect of Skye's growing fear. "Coulson, please!"

Coulson started to kick the soldier off of him and shot the man several times with his ICER. The man was out. Coulson jumped to his feet and started running towards Skye, Bobbi following him.

"Skye, we'll get you!" Coulson yelled, firing the rest of his ICER clip at the soldiers, but the bullets missed.

Bullets zipped past his and Bobbi's heads, barely missing them. Hunter still sat bleeding on the ground, watching in horror as he couldn't do anything to help.  
"Coulson, go for them!" Bobbi exclaimed. "I'll shoot!"

Coulson nodded as bursted forward towards Skye as she was still being drug away by the soldiers. But he couldn't keep his footing, the ground was basically buckling beneath him. He fell to the ground as the shaking worsened. Screams of civilians echoed against the rumbling of the Earth.

Coulson tried to jump to his feet, but a bright, blinding light erased everything from view. A flash grenade. Coulson, Bobbi, and Hunter all shielded their eyes against the harsh, white light. All that could be made out were Skye's fading out screams and the rumbling of the Earth, which then abruptly stopped.

The light faded after what seemed like an eternity. Coulson blinked, trying to get a hold on his surroundings. Nobody was their. The Hydra soldiers were gone, nobody left. Skye was gone. Only him, Bobbi, Hunter, and the disoriented citizens were still in the area.

Skye was gone.

Coulson swiveled around to face Bobbi and Hunter, both with distraught looks painted on their faces.  
"Did they?" Hunter began. "Did they just take Skye?" he asked, Bobbi helping him up.

Coulson gulped, feeling sick to his stomach, "I-I'm afraid so. We've lost her. Hydra has Skye. We failed. We couldn't protect her."

"They cheated, that's what they did." Bobbi spat. "Used a flash grenade to get away. Now those assholes have Skye…"

The area around them seemed stark-quiet in their disbelief, despite the echoing sounds of first responder sirens in the distance. Some buildings lay half crumbled. People walked around in a daze, still trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Some cars were on fire. Some people were even bruised and bloodied. The earthquake had done its damage.

"And we don't know where they took her." Coulson mumbled.

"We can get her back." Hunter said, trying to say something positive. "Somehow."

"And how can we do that when we don't know where the hell they took her?!" Coulson snapped, reeling from the kidnapping. "How?!"  
"I-I don't know…"

Bobbi blinked slowly and looked the other way, unsure of what to do or say.

The three remained quiet for what seemed like forever, not even looking at each other. Not until a broken cry cut through the semi-stark white silence.

"Skye! Skye!"

Coulson blinked and looked to see Ward running through the debris of the earthquake, headed their way. Blood ran down his forehead, he ran clutching his side. Blood stained his hand.

Ward stopped just in front of the three agents. He looked in disbelief and shock at Coulson's purpling face, at the bloodied Hunter, at the distraught Bobbi. The looked around at the wrecked battlefield, debris from the quake littering it. He looked back at Coulson, knowing that one person was missing. Skye.

"Where's Skye?" he asked in a small, weak voice. Pain filled his soft, brown eyes.

Coulson gulped and slightly clenched his fist, trying to figure out what to say to the man. "Ward, I-I… Skye's…"

"Where is Skye?" Ward hissed, his face hardening in anger again. "Where the hell is she?"  
"I'm sorry," Coulson choked out. "She's gone."

Ward's face twitched and he grabbed Coulson by the collar, bringing him close. "What did you say?" he hissing, anger boiling in his eyes.

Coulson winced as he looked into the seething anger of Ward's face, feeling the air temperature start to heat up around him. "Skye's gone." he whispered.

"Coulson." Bobbi said sharply. "Be careful of what you say." she aimed her ICER at Ward. Hunter still stood beside her, gaping at the situation.

Ward tightened his grip on Coulson's shirt collar. He gritted his teeth, "What did you say?" he growled.

"Skye's gone. Hydra took her. They overcame us and we couldn't save her. I'm sorry." Coulson squeaked out.

Ward threw Coulson to the ground, "What?!" he screamed. Fire erupted in his hands. "What the hell do you mean that Hydra has Skye?!" he howled, anger blazing in his eyes. "What do you mean?!"

"Ward, I-"

"How could you let them take her?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming!


	12. Chapter Twelve (Burnt to a Cinder)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward goes berserk after finding out Skye was kidnapped.

"How could you let them take her?!" Ward howled again, the flames glowing brighter. "How could you?!"

"Ward, I'm sorry, we were overrun!" Coulson exclaimed through his grief, slowly getting up from the cracked ground. "Hunter was shot, Morse was trying to stop the bleeding, and I had a freaking Hydra agent on top of me! There was nothing we could do!"

"Stop lying!" Ward hissed. "You could've done something! You let them take her!"

"Ward, we couldn't! They overran us! They used a flash grenade on us and we were blinded. We didn't even see them take her away."

Ward's face twitched. "Sure you did." he muttered. "Everything was fine until you showed up!"

"What?"

"Me and Skye were perfectly fine all by ourselves!" Ward screamed. "We could've handled the attackers all by ourselves! But your pathetic ass had to come out of nowhere to try to get her back! And now she'll probably never come back!"

"Coulson." Bobbi said simply, looking at Coulson.

"We'll get her back." Coulson said.

"And she won't be going back to you!" Ward snapped. "She never wanted to go back to you. And your ass didn't listen. If she had wanted to come back, she would've done it by now."

"And I understood that once she told me." Coulson said calmly. "That's what she was doing when we were attacked. She was fully explaining her reasoning to why she wasn't coming back anytime soon. And I accepted that. But I didn't expect for Hydra to show up out of completely nowhere."

"And now she's gone because of you!" Ward screamed, approaching Coulson. The flames coming extremely close to Coulson.

Coulson flinched, feeling his skin burn as the unearthly flames licked his cheek. But he still stood his ground, trying to reason with the raging man. "Ward, I promise, we'll get her back."

"There's no we in this." Ward hissed. "You are not going anywhere near her. I'll get her back and we'll, being me and her, will be on our way. You are not going to be involved in this. I'll do it all by myself and I'll do it better than you ever could. Stay out of this."

"I am not letting you do this all by yourself, Ward." Coulson stated firmly. "Something is wrong with you. You're unstable."

"Me unstable?!" Ward snapped.

"Something's wrong with you." Coulson repeated. "You need to calm down before something bad happens."

"How can I calm down when Skye is God knows where probably being prepared to be cut on?!" Ward hissed, pain in his eyes. "Being treated like some monster?!"

"She isn't a monster." Coulson said. "The only monster I see here is you."

Ward's eyes widened in rage and the flames flared. "What?!" he screamed. He leaned closer to Coulson, who was starting to back away, "Say that again." he hissed. "To my face."

"The only monster I see here is you." Coulson repeated. "If you don't calm down."

"I am not a monster!" Ward spat. "I'm only this way because of things I was doing for you!" he screamed. "This happened because of an accident at a Hydra base I was trying to take down to help you out! I've changed, Coulson. I am not a monster."

The flames came dangerously close to Coulson again. "What's happening now proves otherwise." he stated. "Now calm down."

"I am not going to calm down!" Ward roared. "Not for you!"

Coulson stepped back as the flames from Ward grew hotter and hotter.

"Do you want a monster?! I can show you a monster!" Ward screamed. "I can be the monster you always thought I was!"

The flames suddenly flared to several times their size, engulfing Ward in dark-red light. Ward was no longer visible, but a man of flame, a man of hellfire, stood.

Coulson's eyes widened and he stepped back again, reaching for his ICER.

"Do you think that pathetic piece of crap will do anything to me?!" Ward hissed, his voice distorted by the crackling of flame. "It won't! And I'll kill you before you even have a chance to even touch me. I'll burn you all to nothing."

Coulson looked to Hunter and Bobbi, whose eyes were all widened in fear. He looked back to Ward, "I know that you won't kill us." he said quietly. "You don't have the heart."

"I didn't use to!" Ward yelled. "But now I don't care! After everything that you did to me, I don't care about you or your team. I rather see you all dead."

The flaming mass that was Ward stepped towards Coulson, fists clenched. "And I'll go ahead and start with you."

"Skye." Coulson said quickly, fear growing. "Think of Skye. You want to be with her, but if you kill us she'll only fear you again."

Ward tensed, "What?" he asked.

"I understand that you hate me, that you hate us, but I know that you care for Skye. You would do anything for her. But this isn't something that she would want. If you kill us, she won't stay with you. She'll most likely try to kill you in retaliation. Think, Ward."

Ward clenched his fists and the flames snuffed out, revealing himself again. "I guess that you are right." he said. "But this doesn't change anything. I still don't want you anywhere near her, do you understand?" he asked. "Leave us the hell alone."

He turned around and started to walk off, but two high-pitched shots and a twinge of pain stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned around to see Coulson, pointing his ICER towards him. Ward snarled, "Damn you." he hissed. He swayed as his body grew heavy. He fell with a thud to the ground, unconscious.

"What did you do that for?!" Hunter exclaimed.

"I've been pursuing him for a while." Coulson said. "I just wasn't going to let him get away like that, even in the circumstances. He's going back to the Vault, where he belongs. Meanwhile, you'll be patched up and we can start the search for Skye."

Bobbi frowned, "And how do you expect us to get that hulk of a man back to the jet?" she asked. "Hunter's got a bad shoulder, he doesn't need to be lifting anything anytime soon."

"We'll find a way." Coulson responded. "But we'll need to get him locked up as fast as we can. I don't know how long the ICER will hold, he's not human."

Hunter gulped from beside Bobbi, "Coulson, I'm afraid that you just made a huge mistake with shooting him. He already hated your guts, it's just gonna be even worse now."

Coulson sighed, "We'll be fine." he said. "We just need to find Skye as fast as we can."

Hunter and Bobbi exchanged nervous glances with one another before nodding at Coulson.

But Coulson was wrong, they wouldn't be fine. Coulson had unleashed a monster's wrath. A wrath fueled by the flames of hell. Nothing would be okay. The wrath of hellfire was going to kill them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming!


	13. Chapter Thirteen (Echoes of Silence)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward gets brought back to base....

(Playground Base)

Simmons looked to Mack and Fitz, who were all sitting in the lab in complete silence. They were all anxious to hear something of the situation. They had heard nothing at all and May had rushed out an hour ago. Something was up, they just didn't know what.

"So, what do you think is happening?" Simmons asked. "Could there be something wrong?"

"Could be. I don't know." Mack responded. "Honestly, I don't. But don't look on the bad side. Maybe they found her."

"I don't know what to think, Mack." Simmons said. "It's just the way May rushed out of here earlier. She seemed frantic, like something was wrong. That's what worries me."

"Don't worry, Jemma." Fitz said. "Like Mack said, maybe they found her."

"I don't know…."

The three agents continued to sit in silence, until commotion outside the lab in the hallway caught their attention. They all got up and ran to the doorway. They watched in confusion as several agents drug a seemingly unconscious man towards the direction of the Vaults. They tried to see who it was though, but they couldn't.

Bobbi and Hunter then rushed into the lab, both distraught and battle-weary. Simmons panicked at the sight of Hunter's bloody shoulder.

"What the bloody hell happened?!" Fitz exclaimed.

Bobbi looked back into the hallway, where Coulson was passing. Coulson nodded and Bobbi looked back. "We found her." she said quietly.

"You did?!" Simmons exclaimed. "And?"

"We lost her." Hunter said.

"Lost her?" Mack asked, dumbfounded. "Lost her how?"

"Hydra got her." Bobbi stated. "She was with us, trying to explain to us why she isn't coming back here anytime soon and Hydra attacked. They overcame us. They shot Hunter in the shoulder, I was trying to stop the bleeding, and one soldier had Coulson pinned. They grabbed Skye and used a flash grenade to blind us and they got away with her. She's gone. We don't know where she could be."

Fitzsimmons and Mack all looked at each other in disbelief.

"So she's gone?" Mack asked, mouth slightly agape.

"Yes, and we don't know where." Hunter said, grimacing as he moved his shoulder.

"Let's get that cleaned up." Simmons said, trying to to start crying. "Before it gets infected."

"Fine." Hunter grumbled, peeling off his blood-covered shirt.

"So… H-How is Coulson gonna find her?" Fitz asked, panic-stricken. "How are we gonna find her?"

"I don't know." Bobbi said. "He's got another situation to deal with at the same time."

"Does it happen to involve the man that those agents were dragging down the hallway?" Mack asked.

"Yes."

"Who is it?" Fitz asked, trying to change the subject from Skye's kidnapping.

Bobbi took a breath, looking at Hunter who was getting his wound cleaned by Simmons. "You're not gonna like this, but it's Ward." she said.

"Ward?!" Fitz exclaimed. "Why him of all people?!"

"He was with Skye." Hunter said, wincing as Simmons cleaned his gunshot wound. "They were together, running from both us and Hydra. And they seemed pretty happy together as well. I don't know why though."

"But the reason why Coulson is having him locked back up is that something is wrong with him." Bobbi said.

"Wrong like what?" Mack asked.

"You know the Hellfire guy we've been chasing?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, what about him?" Fitz asked in response. "What's that got to do with Ward?"

"It's him."

"What?" Fitzsimmons asked in unison.

"Ward is Hellfire. Somehow he is." Bobbi said. "I really don't know what the hell happened to him, but somehow he can summon flames out of completely nowhere. And it's not just that. He's got the rage of the Hulk, if not worse." she explained. "He almost killed us in retaliation after Skye's kidnapping. And I've worked with him before, before the Hydra uprising, before he was labeled as a traitor. He was a good man, even though that was probably a ruse to get people to trust him.

But, he was usually calm and collected, a little hotheaded. But not like that. I've never seen a person get that angry. It was terrifying. Coulson called it Berserker Rage. I don't know what it is. He explained to me and Hunter what it was."

Fitzsimmons' faces both dropped in fear at the mention of Berserker Rage.

"T-That? Are you sure Coulson said that?" Simmons stammered, wrapping up Hunter's wound. "Are you sure?"

Bobbi nodded, "That's what he said."

"Then I want out of here." Fitz said. "That was bad enough last year when it happened, I don't want to go through it again. And if, if he has some kind of, um, freaky control over fire. That sounds like a bomb waiting to go off."

"That's what Coulson said." Hunter said, slipping back on his shirt.

"Then lock the bastard away!" Fitz yelled. "He's already a menace! This just makes it like, like ten times worse! Keep him the hell away from us!"

"Fitz…" Simmons began.

"Jemma, don't lie, you feel that way too." Fitz responded, cutting her off. "Now it sounds like he's a literal monster. That's just one more reason to keep him locked up."

"That's what Coulson was doing." Hunter said. "But he's not gonna be happy when he wakes up. If I were Coulson, I would've just let the man go. He was already pissed to the extreme, this is only gonna make it fifty times worse. He's in pain, in grief. He blamed us for Skye's kidnapping." He shuttered, "It wasn't pretty. And I'm afraid for what's going to happen when the bloke wakes up. Like you said Fitz, he's probably going to be like a bomb."

Fitzsimmons gulped, looking to Mack and Bobbi.

"We need to get out of here." Fitz said. "I don't want to be here when he's awake by the sound of it."

"Well I'm not going anywhere." Mack said. "We need to find Skye and I'm going to help. The Vault will hold up. We'll be okay."

Simmons took a ragged breath, "Are you sure?"

"I think it's built for about anything." Mack said.

"Even a raging man that has a supernatural hold over fire?" Hunter asked.

"I guess. It's that we don't need to run now." Mack responded. "Skye is in Hydra hands, we've got to get her back."

Fitz looked to all of the agents, who clearly looked like they weren't running anytime soon. "Alright, fine." he said. "But at the first sight of being burned, I'm running."

* * *

(Elsewhere.)

"Sir, we've got her. Unfortunately, the man escaped our grasp. But he is in SHIELD's custody though, he would be easy to get."

"Fine. Is the female subject locked up and sedated? I've seen what she is capable of doing, I don't want my base being crumbled to the ground by a magnitude 9 earthquake."

"Yes, sir. She is contained. When do you want the researchers to begin their, well, experiments?"

"I want to be there personally, but unfortunately I can't for three days. So do it then. If she is really another Inhuman, this is big. We have Inhuman researchers trying to create more, but so far they failed. Only a few survived.

And that's why I need the male subject here as well. He survived one of the experiments, but he ran away before we could get him. If you have the chance, bring him to me. We've already got one subject in our custody, 'Quake', as we're calling her. One of my agents heard the man call her that, it has a nice ring to it. But bring me Hellfire when you can. I want to see what makes them tick."

"Y-Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the kudos and comments coming!


	14. Chapter Fourteen (Embers of Rage)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward's anger starts to take control...

(An Hour Later)

Ward woke with a start, jumping to his feet and swiveling to survey his surroundings. His head hurt like crazy, so it took a while for him to get a hold on reality. But once he fully realized where he was, anger took hold again.

The Vault.

Gray brick walls surrounded him on three sides, a white, screen-like, opaque wall covered the final side. He couldn't see the outside. One light from the ceiling illuminated the space and one, small cot filled a corner. Nothing else occupied the small vault.

Ward tried to suppress his rage as he looked down at himself. His hands were still caked in his own blood, his shirt and jacket covered in dried blood. No one bothered to get him medical attention. But his Inhumanity must've healed the wound somehow, he wasn't bleeding anymore.

His mind was still foggy and the growing rage and massive headache did not help one bit. A swooshing sound caught his attention and he turned to see the opaque barrier fading away. As it faded away, Ward could see Coulson standing on the other side.

"You!" Ward roared, flames bursting out. He ran towards the barrier, but stopped. He remembered the barrier's capabilities, he didn't want to be fried to death by the laser grid. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he growled. "Why the hell am I back in this hellhole?!"

Coulson frowned, standing in spot by a lone, metal chair. "You're unstable." he said. "A potentially dangerous weapon. And I wasn't gonna let you slip from my grasp again. I took advantage of the situation."

"Am I more important than the fact that Hydra has Skye?!" Ward hissed. "Why care about me?!"

"We're searching for Skye as I speak, it's a slow process though." Coulson stated, trying to be calm. "She will be found."

"Let me out of here and it'll go faster."

"No, I am not letting your crazy self out of here anytime soon." Coulson snapped. "I am not letting you help. You're unstable, crazy, something's wrong with you. You need to be watched carefully."  
Ward snarled, flames dancing around, "What?!" he screamed.

"And to find out that you're the Hellfire guy we've been searching for for several months now is just another reason to keep you in containment." Coulson said.

"Do you want to know why Hydra called me Hellfire?" Ward growled through clenched teeth.

Coulson blinked, not saying a word.

"Because the fire I control isn't earthly." he hissed. "I figured that out awhile back. The fire is from hell itself."

Coulson's face dropped, the color draining from it, "What?" he asked quietly.

"You heard what I said, they're from hell. Somehow, I can summon them from hell. That's why the flames are darker and hotter than any normal flame. They're the flames of the Devil!" Ward roared, anger glowing in his eyes and flames shooting out once more.

Coulson stepped back slightly, despite the barrier that stood between them. "And not to mention the demon that controls them." he stated. "I see the Berserker rage in your eyes. It's still there, but a whole lot stronger this time around. The mix of demonic hellfire and Asgardian Berserker rage has created a monster. A demon. A demon I won't let out of my sight."

Ward snarled again, but stayed silent.

"You'll stay here." Coulson continued. "You'll be watched over to determine the extent of your 'problem'."

"I don't have a problem!" Ward growled. "You're the one with the problem! Skye and I were perfectly fine until you came sticking your nose into our business!"

"And I said I was sorry!" Coulson snapped. "Don't let your problems control you!"

"I don't have problems!" Ward snapped, stepping closer to the barrier. "Let me out of here and I'll show you that I'm perfectly fine."

"No, what you're showing me right now is that you're far from fine, Ward." Coulson said. "You're not getting out of there anytime soon."

Ward's face twitched, "Then let me kill you and everything will be better." he hissed through clenched teeth. The flames sparked up again, wild anger in his eyes, "That's all I want, to kill you."

Coulson gulped. He had goofed up to the extreme, he had created a rage-fueled demon that was intent on killing him.

"I want to kill you." Ward repeated.

And suddenly the opaque barrier dematerialized, hiding Coulson from view.

Ward clenched his fists and anger, letting the hellfire shoot out in a massive wave around him, hitting the cot and setting it aflame. He slammed the concrete wall with his fist, the skin splitting open and blood oozing out.

"Damn it!" he screeched. "Just wait until I get out of here, Coulson!" he roared. "All that will be left of you will be tiny, pathetic ashes! I will kill you!"

(Elsewhere.)

A Hydra agent approached a suited man with a monocle sitting at a desk, "Sir." he began. "The subject is still asleep, and we still don't know what will happen when she wakes."

"Keep armed agents near her confinement cell." the man replied. "In case anything goes wrong, which I figure it will. Any news on the other subject?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Strucker, we have not." the agent responded. "But we have figured that Director Coulson has him contained somewhere, most likely wherever they call their headquarters. The subject used to be a highly favored agent of the Director's."

"I know the story, Grimwold." Strucker stated. "He betrayed them and so on and so forth. Just figured out where this headquarters of SHIELD's is at and we have a two for one deal. We can capture the male subject and take down the headquarters of SHIELD while we're at it." He adjusted his monocle.

"Yes, Sir." Grimwold replied.

"And don't mess this up. These two subjects, Hellfire and Quake as we call them, seem to be Inhumans, and some of the strongest ones we've encountered at that. We don't want to lose them. They could be the key to creating an army of superior human beings, the next step in the human evolutionary chain." Strucker explained.

Grimwold nodded, "Sir, I promise you we won't fail." he said. "We'll get to it."

Strucker smiled, "Good. This is the first step to great, unimaginable things. The first step to a brand new, far more superior world. A world of miracles."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	15. Chapter Fifteen (Thou Art Fallen and Hallowed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skyes not in good shape and a monster is unleashed....

(An Undisclosed Location)

Skye groaned, trying to peel her eyes open. Her eyelids felt as though they were taped shut, she could only open them slightly Everything hurt, everything was heavy. It felt as though a heavy sleep was upon her.

She struggled to look around at her surroundings. White walls surrounded her on all four sides. A single light from the ceiling illuminated the small, stark-white room. A single, iron-clad door showed the only signs of an exit. A prison. This was a prison.

Thoughts swam slowly through the murkiness of her heavy mind. She struggled to think.

"Where's Coulson?"

"Bobbi?"

"Hunter?!"

"Grant?!"

Her thoughts cried out for her teammates and Ward, but she knew that they weren't anywhere nearby. Then the events of what had happened to her hit her like a train.

Hydra. She had been imprisoned by Hydra. Hydra had taken her from the battle while Coulson, Bobbi, and Lance had been helpless to stop them. And Ward. She didn't know where he was.

Ward had been back at the motel when Hydra attacked. There was no telling to what had happened to him. And she didn't want to know.

Skye now noticed that she was on a small cot. She tried to get up, but was too disoriented to. They must've drugged her. Hydra was smart, they were trying to keep her abilities dormant while they studied her. Or worse, cut her to pieces like her mother.

Skye let her head fall back down to the cot's small, uncomfortable pillow as a clang sounded at the iron door. She weakly looked over as the door swung open to reveal two Hydra guards and a suited man with a monocle. She tried to move away as they approached her, but her limbs were too heavy to move.

The man with the monocle smiled, "You can't get away, I'm afraid. We have you heavily sedated so those abilities of yours don't end up destroying my base." he said. "You can't do anything."

Skye tried to say something back, but it only came out as a whimper.

Monocle man smiled again and looked to the two guards, "Get her. It's time for some, well, 'bloodwork'." he ordered.

The two guards nodded and stepped forward to grab Skye. Skye didn't even fight back, unconsciousness hit her once again. She was out right as the guards grabbed her. Darkness fell over everything, and it was unsure of what would happen to her next.

 

(Playground Base, Next Day)

"We've got a lead." Coulson said, looking and May and Bobbi.

"How do you know that it has anything to do with Skye?" Bobbi asked, skeptical.

"I really don't, but it seems like a good start." Coulson said halfheartedly. "Communications to this Hydra base have been laced with reports of 'Inhumans' and 'Miracles'. And there's one report that screams Skye. Says something about a 'woman subject with seismic powers'.

"That sounds like Skye." May said. "But subject?"

Coulson shook his head, "I don't want to know what that could mean. But we three will be going to scout out the base, accompanied by two other field agents as backup."

May frowned, "Coulson, I'm not so sure that we should be leaving Fitzsimmons, Mack, and Hunter, who's injured, alone here at the base when we have a psychopathic, fire-controlling maniac in the Vault." she said."I don't think that it's a good idea."

Bobbi nodded, "She's right."

"The Vault will hold him." Coulson said. "If he somehow manages to get out, an alarm will sound. Fitzsimmons, Mack, and Hunter will take cover and other agents will deal with Ward. It's as simple as that."

"No, it's not." May said. "He's gone completely insane. Coulson, I saw the Vault footage. You're walking around with a practical bounty on your head. Ward vowed to kill you. If he gets out, he'll probably stop at nothing to kill you. It won't matter who gets in his way."

Coulson gulped and took a breath, "We, we'll be fine." he said. "I don't think it will get that out of hand."

Bobbi took a shallow breath, "Coulson, please don't underestimate the situation. Everything's jumbled. Skye's in Hydra hands, Hunter's injured, and we have a psychopathic monster in the Vault. Don't let everything cloud your thinking. We don't need a tragedy on our hands."

Coulson ran his hands through his hair, "I know that, Bobbi, honestly I do. I just don't know what to do. But I think the Vault will hold up just long enough for us to get Skye back, then we'll deal with him. We're going to try to prevent a fiery massacre."

 

(Several Hours Later, Vault D)

Ward stared off into the distance, sitting on the cold, stone floor of the Vault. His cot had burned yesterday during his and Coulson's confrontation. Rage still clouded his mind. He still yearned to burn Coulson to a crisp, and he hoped that he would have the chance to do just that soon enough.

And Skye, he wanted to find Skye so bad. But he was stuck in this hellhole once again. And there was nothing he could do about it. Or was there?

Flames danced around him in a circle. He watched as they snaked their way across the floor. He watched in curioscity as a tendril of flame inched its way towards the laser barrier, the opaque barrier had disappeared several hours ago.

To his surprise, the flame crossed through the barrier, the lasers not responding to it at all. His mouth curled into a somewhat sinister smile, he had a plan. And he was going to escape and get what he wanted. Coulson's death and Skye.

He slowly stood to his feet, mind still muddled. The air around him rapidly heated as flames burst out from him and covered his body like liquid armor, except it was hellfire. His face, underneath the flame, twisted into a somewhat crazed smile.

He wasn't in his right mind. The Berserker rage and the demonic hellfire had twisted his mind into a murderous, crazed, raged state. He needed help, but where would it come from? There was no one to help him. Skye was gone, Coulson would only make it worse, and everyone else was afraid of him.

But he didn't know that he needed help. Ward smiled slightly as he walked towards the laser barrier, flames coating him. And he kept walking, and he passed right through the barrier, unscathed.

And he didn't bother to extinguish the flames as he stalked up the stairs, why bother? He sent a blast of flame at the door, melting it to a pile of twisted metal. A piercing siren cut through the air, soon followed by the shouts of agents.

But Ward ignored all of this as he stalked out of the Vault and down the hallway, flames shooting around him. His mind was only focused on three things. Escape, Skye, and Coulson's death

And the four agents of the team that had remained at the base didn't know of the demon of fire that was headed in their direction.


	16. Chapter Sixteen (The Fallen Still Stands)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward confronts Fitzsimmons, Hunter, and Mack...

Ward didn't wince as bullets flew past him and as a few even hit the flames and burnt up in the heat. As soon as he had incinerated the door, agents came running as an alarm blared. These agents were nothing to him, he could take them down with ease.

But they were a nuisance, and were delaying him from getting to Skye in time. He would have to kill them just to get past them. Something his normal self would think twice about doing, but in his raged, slightly-mental state it was nothing to kill them.

Agents came barreling towards him, bullets flying. Ward thrusted out his arms and sent flames flying at them, burning them all to ash. There couldn't be that many agents on the base. SHIELD was still extremely small, there was no way that Coulson had built up a good enough force for anything yet.

Two agents that were near him stopped in fear at the sight of their incinerated teammates. They slowly looked in fear at the stalking fiery form of the demon coming towards them. With a scream, they turned to run away. But it was too late, Ward sent two massive fireballs screaming towards them. The flames engulfed them and nothing was left except molten piles of their guns.

And then the hallway was empty except for Ward. Everyone was steering clear of him, no one wanted to get turned into ash. He smiled slightly and extinguished the flames, figuring that he could get out of here with ease. He kept walking down the hallways, unsure of where to go.

Whenever he had been in the base, it was in the Vault. And the one time he was in the hallways, he was being led to an FBI van and a bag was thrown over his head before they had gotten to the exit. So he had no clue where to go.

Rage still muddled his somewhat twisted mind. It was starting to clear, but not by much. Killing Coulson had slipped to the back of his mind at the moment since the only thing on his mind was escape. But he didn't know where to go to get out of here. He would have to find some way to find the exit somehow. But how?

As he turned another corner, he heard familiar voices. He stopped. It was Fitzsimmons and that British guy from before. There was also a voice he didn't quite recognize.

A slight smile filled his face. He would somehow get them to show him the way out. All he hoped is that they wouldn't shoot him or call Coulson, wherever he was.

 

(The Lab)

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Hunter shouted over the blaring alarm. "What's happening?!"

"He must've escaped." Simmons said.

"By he do you mean Ward?" Fitz asked, panic-stricken.

"Yes he does!" Hunter exclaimed. "Now get the bloody lab door sealed shut!"

"I'm trying!" Mack yelled from a computer. "But it's not working. Power must be being directed to somewhere else by another agent. If he's out, they're trying to block him in." He pressed a button and the alarm shut off, "But I did get that off."

"If we hide, maybe he won't find us." Fitz said. "Hide in the back of the lab." He pointed towards the corner. "And wait there, uh, quietly."

"That's not going to work." A voice said, cutting through the silence.

They all turned around quickly and froze seeing Ward standing in the doorway, a wild, raged look in his eyes.

Hunter darted for a rack of ICERs hanging on the wall for instances like this, but a blast of fire beat him to it and melted it to nothing.

"You're not going to do that." Ward said darkly, walking into the room. "No ones going to shoot anyone."

"W-What are you, ah, ah, doing here?!" Fitz exclaimed.

"Doing what I am supposed to be doing." Ward growled. "Going to find Skye. Coulson isn't capable of doing that. I can. And no ones going to stop me." he hissed. "And you're going to show me how the hell to get out of here without putting up a fight.

Just show me the way out without shooting or calling more agents on me. Or you'll all end up dead."

Mack blinked, "What if we don't want to?" he asked. "You're a prisoner. We're not going to help you."  
Ward snarled and flames burst out from around him. The four agents jumped back in surprise.

"We're not going to help a, a, monster like you." Fitz spat out.

A pained smile filled Ward's face, "Please, don't make me hurt you. I really don't want to do that." he said quietly. "Not again. I just want to get out of here and rescue Skye. That's all."

"And I know you want to kill Coulson as well." Simmons said softly, trying not to raise her voice.

Ward's face twisted into a snarl again, "So what if I do?!" he hissed. "He deserves it! For everything he's done!"

"And Skye won't stay with you if you do that!" Hunter exclaimed. "I know that she sees Coulson as a father figure, and if you kill him whatever connection you two had will be gone."

Ward snarled, not sure of what to say. "I do want I want to do. I'll kill whoever I want to kill." he hissed. "And I won't think twice about setting your ass on fire."

"Think this through, lad." Hunter continued. "Don't do this. Don't hurt anyone. The hangar is just down the hall." he said, pointing out the door.

"And whatever you do, do not let Coulson know that I'm gone." Ward hissed. "Let me go with no problems."  
"Just go, before we do something to you." Hunter responded.

Ward's face twitched and he spun around and stalked out of the lab.

Simmons turned to Hunter, "Why the hell did you tell him where the exit is?!" she exclaimed.

"So we wouldn't get killed!" Hunter yelled. "I was trying to protect us. It's better to let him go than be burned to ashes. We'll still let Coulson know that he's escaped. We'll just tell him that he took advantage of us and ran off."

"Dude, I think you just unleashed a monster." Mack said. "If he finds Coulson somehow…."

"I think he's going towards Skye at this point." Hunter said. "And maybe he'll find her. I'm just afraid of what will happen to her once he finds her. I know he cares for her, but that bloke isn't in his right mind."  
"That wasn't totally him." Fitz said softly. "Bobbi was right, something is wrong with him."

"What do you mean?" Simmons asked.

"He wouldn't normally threaten to kill us, not anymore." Fitz said. "He's not in his right, um, mind. Whatever happened to him distorted his mind."

"Maybe too many things happened to him at once." Mack said. "I mean, he's dealing with whatever had happened to him, Skye's kidnapping, and the fact that Coulson shot him and brought him back here. Maybe it's all driving him to insanity."

"Coulson said the mix of Berserker Rage and demonic hellfire created a demon." Simmons said. "I see what he meant. And we all saw the Vault footage. He's gone insane with the grief."

Hunter sighed and rubbed his injured, patched up shoulder. "I don't know, but I'm going to contact Coulson, no matter what the crazy bloke said."

The other three agents nodded in response, fearing for what would happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	17. Chapter Seventeen (What's Inside My Head?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward's mind is slowly breaking and Skye's not doing well...

Once Ward got away from the base, he didn't look back. He kept on going for miles on end, for several hours. The base was pretty far from any civilization, ten miles at the least. But that didn't stop Ward's rage and determination from driving him to the nearest small town motel.

He barely had any cash with him, just enough for a room. His bag was left back in the motel in Tennessee. All he had was some cash and the clothes on his back. But he ignored the lack of necessities and got a room anyways.

His Berserker rage was draining him of strength, he need to rest soon. But he froze up as he got into the room, everything attacking his head at once. With a growl, he swung his fist into the wall, leaving a dent.

Nothing made sense at the moment. He wanted Coulson dead. Skye was God knows where and probably having God knows what done to her. And Coulson would probably be hunting him down soon enough. The world was falling down around him.

Ward started to take deep breaths as he felt the air around him start to heat up immensely. No, not here. Not now. He couldn't let the flames take control of him. He glanced up, seeing his ragged reflection in the mirror on the wall across from him.

He looked horrible. His face showed lack of proper sleep and food. He probably had scared the young man at the motel's front desk when he checked in. He really looked like a monster, and he felt like it too.

The seething rage in his eyes made him freeze. How did he let himself get like this? He had allowed himself to slip down to the level of a complete demon. He had killed just out of rage, he had threatened the entire team's lives because he allowed the darkness inside of his head to control him.

The same darkness that would eventually consume him if he didn't learn how to control the monsters within him. The Berserker Rage, the demonic hellfire. They both would soon consume him if things didn't turn for the better.

Everything was being destroyed around him, even his own soul. Sooner or later, he would become a soulless monster. The monster that the team already thought he was.

He plopped to the worn bed with a ragged breath. He frowned as something crinkled in his pocket. Digging through his pocket, he found a crumpled-up, slightly-singed piece of paper. Unfolding it, his world crumbled even more.

It was Skye's letter. The letter she had written him when she had left to talk to Coulson. This was his last connection to Skye before she was taken. He hadn't even said anything to her before she had left.

He read the words over and over, a barrier previously sealed in his mind crumbling. He had always compartmentalized his feelings, and if they showed, they alway came out as anger. He never cried. Never. But now wasn't the time to do anything about that.

The tears came and he couldn't do anything about him. He had lost Skye, and he wasn't there to do anything about it. And he would probably never see her again. He put the blame on himself, adding to his numerous demons.

Ward cried until exhaustion put him to a deep, uneasy sleep. A sleep full of nightmares and death.

 

(Playground Base.)

"Sir," Hunter began, trying to figure out how the hell to explain to Coulson what had happened over comm. "We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Ward, sir, he's… He's escaped." Hunter said.

"What?! How is that possible?! I had him under tight measures in the Vault!"

"I don't know. And we have a body count as well, I think. There's piles of ashes and we have missing agents. He walked in the lab and we couldn't do anything. He destroyed the gun rack that was in there. Demanded a way out.

We couldn't do anything to stop him."

Hunter heard Coulson cuss.

"So he killed more agents and you don't know where the hell he is?"

"No sir. He said something about finding Skye… And killing you. Said you weren't capable of finding Skye. Then he threatened to kill us." Hunter continued. "That bloke was completely crazy. I was afraid that we were all going to burn."

"Damn. Me, Bobbi, and May are coming back. Skye isn't at this base, but we've found some good clues to where she could be. We'll be back soon. Keep an eye out for the bastard in case he comes back for some God forsaken reason."

"Yes, sir." Hunter said, shutting off the comms.

"What did he say?" Mack asked as Hunter turned back to the other agents.

"They're coming back. They didn't find Skye, but they did find some good clues or what not to where she could be." he replied.

The agents stayed silent for a while, until Simmons spoke up.

"Do you really think that Ward will kill Coulson?" she asked. "Do you really think he's got that in him?"  
"Normally, no." Fitz said. "I, ah, don't think that he would. But now, he's crazy. I wouldn't put it past him to kill us all. Whatever happened to him, it was bad. It's got him all… It's got him all messed up."

"Then we better all watch our backs then." Mack said. "We don't know if or when that bastard will be back. But if he does come back, he'll probably kill us if he's still in that dark-fueled rage or whatever. He's crazy, not in his right mind. If one thing doesn't go his way, he'll snap again."

The agents all shuttered, afraid for what will come if things didn't end well in their search for Skye.

"But hopefully whatever clues Coulson is bringing back will help us find Skye." Simmons said. "Maybe it'll speed up the process."

Hunter sighed, "Love, I wouldn't get my hopes up at this point. I wouldn't."

 

(Elsewhere.)

Skye grimaced as the guards threw her back into her small cell. She was still to weak to do anything to fight back. They kept drawing blood from her over and over to use for God knows what. She knew that she would die from blood loss sooner or later.

They were going to use her to death, and that's when Hydra would really start to mull over her. She would end up like her mother soon, all cut up and no life left in her.

And Ward would end up like her father, a being of rage. A being that death would follow everywhere he went. If Ward found her dead, the man she knew would no longer exist. All that would remain of him would be a monster, a demon.

She silently hoped that someone was looking for her other than Ward. If Ward knew what was happening to her, nothing would be left standing in his Inhuman wake. Everything would burn.

But she knew Coulson was looking for her the best he could, probably in overdrive at that. He would worry himself to death over her.

She had two men that were willing to die for her sake. Deaths that she didn't want.

And she hoped that Coulson would be the one to find her. Despite her rekindling feelings for Ward, she knew that the man couldn't handle it. She knew that he had probably already slipped back down into darkness with her kidnapping.

And it would be sooner or later before the darkness completely consumed him, leaving nothing left but a murderous demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	18. Chapter Eighteen (I Suffer The Silence)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward finds Skye's location and so has Coulson...

Ward woke up sometime later the next day, his eyes slightly crusted shut from the dried tears from the night before. He groggily sat up, his head surprisingly clear. The rage had died down, but there was still paranoia and that overwhelming sense of doom.

As he put his hand down on the worn quilt, a soft crackling caught his attention. He looked down to see Skye's note all wadded up underneath his hand. He quickly looked away from it, not wanting to see it again. Not wanting to see his failure to protect her again.

Getting up, he saw his reflection in the mirror once again. Still, he looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot from crying all last night and he had dark bags under his eyes. Glancing longingly at the small bathroom, he decided he should have a quick shower at the least.

He didn't have any spare clothes with him, so he was stuck with what he had on. But that really didn't matter, only one thing was on his mind. And that was to find Skye.

As he headed to the bathroom, Ward gave a quick glance at the room's small laptop. He knew of a way to find her. The same way he had originally found her, getting into Hydra's servers and scanning through the database.

If she was still alive, she had to be listed somehow in Hydra's database. And it would just take Ward a short while to find just that. All activity in his brain was set on finding Skye at the moment, he had abandoned the thought of killing Coulson for now.

He got into the bathroom, started up the small shower, took off his somewhat-dirty clothes, and slipped into the warming stream of water. God, it felt amazing. He hadn't had a shower in what seemed like days, probably about three or four days not. He had lost track of time.

After longer than he intended, he slipped out, dried off, and slipped his clothes back on. Ward got to the computer and started it up. He knew this was risky getting back into Hydra servers, for this could possibly get Hydra back on his tail. But at this point he would do anything to find Skye.

He navigated his way around various programs, courtesy of a flash drive that he was thankful that was still in his pocket. It took him a while, but he found a list of files under something labeled 'Gifted and Inhuman'. Bingo, this had to be it.

There were at least a dozen different 'Subjects' listed. None of them sounded like Skye, until he came to a subject under the name of 'Quake'. Ward frowned, anger building, that's what he would call her for fun. Hydra took it and twisted it in a horrible way.

He read the description of 'Quake'.

"Subject NO 243, Name: 'Quake'. Status: Inhuman. Subject is one of the Inhuman descendants, with the ability over seismic energy. Found with other subject believed to be Inhuman, name: 'Hellfire'."

Ward didn't even continue, he knew this was Skye. The file mentioned Hellfire, which was Hydra's name for him. Hydra still had Skye, there was still hope. He quickly got a location of the base she was being held at, which was somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains.

He was currently somewhere in West Virginia, which were Coulson's base was, so he wasn't that far from Skye's location. Ward would just have to get himself a mode of transportation to get there.

He bolted to his feet after closing all of the programs and shutting down the computer. He ran out the door, whispering to himself. "Don't worry, Skye, I'll find you."

And he hoped that he would be the first one there. He had more Hydra resources than Coulson had, so he hoped that gave him an advantage. He didn't want Coulson anywhere near Skye again.

 

(Playground Base, a Few Hours Later)

"I think we've pinpointed her location." Coulson announced, looking at the members of his team.

"Really?" Simmons asked, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Well, where is she?"

"Somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina." Coulson replied. "It's a small base halfway up the mountains. Well, more of an science base where they probably do unspeakable things."

"Lovely." Hunter grumbled. "So, who has the luck of going this time?" he asked.

"All of us, we're taking the Bus." Coulson said.

"And how the hell do you plan on landing on a freaking mountain?" Hunter asked. "I don't think that that's possible."

"It's possible." May said. "Believe me, I'll find a way."

"We'll need all the help we can get." Coulson continued. "Hunter, I know you're still recovering and Fitzsimmons and Mack aren't fighters, but you all still can watch things from the Bus. Let us know if anything weird pops up. And if Ward happens to show up…"

"We'll all be dead." Fitz stated coldly. "He's gone crazy, I don't think that he will think twice about killing us all."

Coulson shook his head, "I don't know, be we all still need to be careful. There's no telling to what kind of forces Hydra will have since this base contains valuable 'subjects' for them. They'll have it protected pretty well most likely"

"Great." Hunter grumbled.

"Stop complaining." Bobbi said. "This is a matter of life and death here."

"Sorry."  
"Suit up." Coulson said. "We'll need to leave as soon as we can. The faster we get there, the more likely we are to find Skye alive."

"And the more likely we are to get there before Ward somehow shows up." Mack said. "It'll probably be a massacre if he shows up and something's happened to Skye."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Coulson said. "He's unstable. I'm afraid if something's already happened to Skye and he finds her, he'll completely lose it. Whatever happened to him changed him, he's past psychotic. We'll have a mess on our hands if Skye's gone and he finds her. We need to ensure that we get to Skye first and that she's alive."

They all nodded slightly, fear building in their chests. They had to get there and find her as soon as they could.

 

(Elsewhere.)

"How is she holding up, Grimswold?"  
"Oh, Mr Strucker, not that well." Grimswold replied. "She's unconscious from all the blood we've been taking from her. She won't make it much longer."

Strucker smiled slightly, "Good, when she's gone is when the real fun begins. Then we can start the experiments we couldn't perform when she was alive. She is one remarkable specimen, incredibly powerful. She must come from a strong bloodline."

"Anything else you need, sir?" Grimswold asked.

"No, not at the moment." Strucker replied. "I'm just glad that the experiments can soon further. How much longer do you suppose she has?" he asked.

"About two to three days at the most."

"Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	19. Chapter Nineteen (Give Up and Feed the Machine)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward finds Skyeand it all goes south...

(Later The Next Day)

Ward had made it to the outskirts of the mountainous Hydra base later the next day. It had been about three or four days since Skye's kidnapping, he really didn't know. He had lost track of time in his enraged and confused state. Everything was still muddled, despite his currently calm state.

But everything was starting to swarm around faster in his head again since the adrenaline was starting to flow, dangerous for a man like him. His mind was becoming so fogged, only a few things made it through.

"Save Skye…."

"Burn Hydra…"

"Kill Coulson…"

"Find Skye…"

As he approached the base, flames started to ignite. He didn't care who died, Ward just wanted to find Skye alive and burn the base down. The flames completely covered him, since that was his only chance of getting out of here alive and unharmed.

Nothing mattered at the moment except finding Skye.

He burned his way into the base, making alarms go off all around him. But he didn't hear them. Guards starting barking orders and running towards him, guns blazing.

But of course, the bullets burnt up in the hellfire. Two guards froze in terror as two balls of flame was sent their way, completely engulfing them and leaving nothing left but ash and molten metal.

The remaining guards, about eight in number, didn't know what to do at the sight of the fire demon stalking their way. The base didn't have that many guards since it was a science base and extremely secluded. They were wondering how the hell the being had found it anyways and why it was there. They didn't know that there was a half-crazed man underneath all the flame.

As Ward came closer, the normally brave and harsh Hydra guards stepped back, being consumed by fear itself. They dropped their guns and started to flee, but a massive wall of flame consumed them, leaving burnt corpses.

Ward continued forward, ignoring the fact that his attacks caused the walls around him to catch on fire. The base would be consumed in flames soon, but it didn't register in his mind.

He saw scientists running for safety in his peripheral vision, but he didn't bother with them. Ward continued forward, trying to find something that looked like that it would hold a person. But where?  
He continued for what seemed like an eternity to him until he found a hallway of holding cells. Stopping, relief filled him. Had he finally found Skye? The flames dissipated as he walked down the hallway, reading the plaques by each of the metal doors to the cells that showed who was being held in there.

None of them signaled the cell that Skye was being held in. Had he looked in the wrong place? Smoke filled the air as more of the base started to burn. Fear started to fill him as he couldn't find Skye, but then he found it.

The door read 'Subject NO 234, Quake'. A smile filled his face and he approached it, placing a hand on the metal door and sending a blast of flame to engulf the door. The door melted down, leaving the cell wide open for him to walk into.

He walked into the cell, expecting Skye to greet him with a massive hug. But he didn't get that, what he saw instead made him freeze in terror.

Skye laid on the small cot in the cell, almost looking like a skeleton and her eyes closed. She was pale and skinny and it didn't look like she was breathing. Ward felt sick to his stomach as the rage started to take hold again. What did Hydra do to her? She had only been gone for three/four days, and she already looked dead.

Only one thing registered in Ward's mind as he dropped to his knees in defeat and in complete grief. "She's…. Dead…." Rage quickly filled him again, just like that.

He let out the saddest, and yet the most bone-chilling, of wails. He didn't know what to do.

"Dead… She's dead…. Hydra killed her…. Coulson's fault…. Everyone should die…. Everyone's fault…. Should've left us alone…. Damn them all…"

Thoughts swirled around in his mind as he let his head drop in grief and in rage. Nothing mattered anymore to him, absolutely nothing. Should he just give up? Should he just let the darkness inside of him consume him and let it turn him into the monster he was probably always destined to be?

His body started to tremble from the building-up rage. The metaphorical dam in his mind that held everything back was about to break, and he didn't care. Now he didn't care who lived or died, even though he rather see everything burn.

Nothing mattered anymore.

He watched his vision fade as he gave into the darkness, into the Berserker Rage and demonic hellfire. The beast that pretty much everything and everyone in his life helped to create was about to be unleashed.

Flames almost as black as the night burst out around him, engulfing him in accordance with the loudest of bone-shattering screams.

Nothing would be left standing.

 

(About The Same Time.)

The team looked at a holographic map of the Hydra base as May tried to land the Bus on a large plateau near the base.

Fitz whistled, seeing the steep cliff the base was on, "I'd hate to be the poor lad that has the, uh, misfortune of falling off of that."

"You're not, Fitz." Coulson said. "You, Simmons, Mack, and Hunter are staying in here to survey and send us information as we need it."

"And you're going in with just Bobbi and May with you?" Simmons asked. "Three against however many soldiers are in there?"  
"It's a science base, so I assume that there aren't that many regular Hydra agents." Coulson said. "No offence, Fitzsimmons, but science agents aren't the fighting type. Even though you two put up a good fight."

"And what if Ward's there?" Hunter asked.

"We'll take him out if we can." Coulson said.

"You sure that that's a good idea?" Bobbi asked. "Remember last time you took him in."

"I don't know. But he's still a threat. And we're doing our best to find Skye." Coulson said, holding on to the Holotable as the Bus lurched as it landed on the rocky ground. "And it looks like we're here. Let's step outside and take a look around, then we'll get on it."

All the agents nodded as May came out of the cockpit and they headed to the already-lowered cargo ramp. They all frowned once they stepped outside and saw the base just a quarter of a mile away. Smoke was rising from it and flames were jumping out from various locations.

"Um, I think someone got here before us." Hunter stated, frowning even more.

"And that someone probably is Ward." Mack added.

"Dammit." Coulson spat. "And that means one of two things. One, Ward's gone berserk in the base. Two, Skye's gone and Ward found her, leading to number one. I'm fearing number two."

"We need to get there, now." May stated sternly.

Coulson nodded and turned to the other agents, "Fitzsimmons, Mack, Hunter, get back inside the Bus and seal the cargo hold. You'll be fine in there. We've got to make it into the base."

The three agents nodded briefly and ran back inside the Bus, cargo door soon shutting.  
"I don't think Hydra will be worrying about us." Bobbi said. "If Ward's rampant in the base, they're going to be worrying about him, not us."

"We need to find Skye, hopefully she's alive. And we need to take care of Ward, at least get him calmed down." Coulson said.

"And how are we going to do that?" May asked.

Coulson took another hesitant glance at the burning base, "Honestly, I don't know. If Skye's gone, there will be no stopping Ward. We've got to hope that she's still alive and we can get Ward calmed down. Or everything's going to go to hell."

And Coulson was probably right about that last part. Ward was in a rage-fueled frenzy around the base, and there would be no stopping the monster that had taken his place. Grant Ward was most likely completely gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	20. Chapter Twenty (You'll Be The Death of Me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During his rampage, Ward confronts Coulson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Brief mentions of suicide attempts.

May and Bobbi ran down the halls of the burning base. They had split up from Coulson since he insisted that they would cover more ground that way. And Coulson wanted to be the one to find Ward, in case there was any incident, which he feared that there would be. The stench of smoke filled their noses as they turned down the halls, trying to find the place where Skye was being kept.

They almost stopped as an echoing, demonic scream reverberated through the smoke-filled halls, but they kept going. Someone, no, something else was here. And they didn't want to find out what it was.

It took a while due to the low visibility, but the two agents found the corridor of cells. They split up, looking in the small window of each of the cells. They found them either to be empty, or a dead body laid on the cot. This filled the two with worry, fearing for Skye

"May!" Bobbi shouted, pointing at a door that was melted away. "She's in here!"

May ran over, "And it looks like someone got here before us, that being Ward." she said as the two stepped over the melted door.

They both froze at the sight of Skye's body, all small and pale. What had Hydra done to her in four days? Was she alive?

Bobbi trembled as she went over and felt for a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling a weak pulse, "She's alive. But barely, her heartbeat's barely there. We need to get her back to the base now."

May sighed in relief, "I'll contact Coulson." she said, activating the comms. "Coulson? It's May."

"We found Skye and she's alive, but barely. We need to get her medical attention now."

"What do you mean you're busy?"

"Ward? Where? It's bad isn't it?"

"Don't handle this all by yourself, Phil. He's psychotic, he'll kill you."

"Fine, but take him down when you can. Me and Bobbi will try to get Skye out of here before the place burns to the ground."

She disconnected and turned back to Bobbi.

Bobbi raised an eyebrow, "What's going on?" she asked.

"Ward's here and he lost it." May said. "Apparently he thought that Skye was dead and went mental. Coulson's trying to reason with him."

"He'll get killed!" Bobbi exclaimed. "Is he crazy?"

"Probably, but he told us to trust us and get Skye the hell out of here." May said. She pointed to Skye, "Let's see if we can try and wake her up. If not, we'll have to carry her out of here. And hurry up, we don't have much time. Either the base is going to burn on top of us or Ward's going to kill us all."

 

(Just a Little Bit Ago)

Ward blazed down the hallways in a complete storm of wrath and grief, black flames pouring out all around him. The flames licked the wall, setting them on fire. The base would soon burn to the ground, but he didn't care.

Three Hydra scientists had already died just by getting in his way. He burnt them to a crisp as they tried to get away from the black fire demon. He didn't care. His human mind was fleeting and soon he would be gone, leaving only the demon remaining.

He eventually stumbled outside into the brown, coarse grass of the cliff, overlooking the far ground below. The base was about halfway up the mountain and the cliff was about 100 feet above the next small overhang below. A long drop.

He stood confused, looking all around the open space. Black flames scorched the ground around him, leaving a black circle. He didn't know where to go, he didn't know what to do. Nothing mattered anymore. He didn't care whether he lived or died. His enraged and saddened mind made him look at the sharp drop of the cliff.

Should he just jump and end it all?

He began walking numbly towards the edge of the cliff, until a soft, stern voice stopped him. One that filled him with even more rage.

"Grant, calm down."

Coulson.

Ward spun around, flames jutting out again. He snarled at the sight of the Director, "What the hell are you doing here?" he screeched, his voice distorted by the madness and flames.

Coulson stood in the grass, an ICER calmly pointed towards Ward. "Grant, calm down." he said softly. "This rampage is useless."  
"And why should I calm down?!" Ward screamed. "Tell me! Why should I calm down when Skye is dead?!"

Coulson's face fell, "Wait, she's dead?" he asked, his gun lowering. "She is?"

"Yes, 'cause Hydra killed her! And it's all your fault! We would be perfectly fine if you didn't come sticking your nose into our business and had left us the hell alone!" Ward screeched, approaching Coulson. "It's all your fault that she's dead! And I'm going to kill you for it!"

Coulson gulped and backed up, "Grant, I know, I should've left you alone. I was stupid, I'm sorry. I didn't know that it would lead to all of this."

"Sorry my ass!" Ward screamed. "You're not sorry!"

"Ward." Coulson said calmly, trying to not let fear show in his voice. "Honestly, I am. I didn't know that it would lead to this. I didn't."

Ward only snarled and kept approaching Coulson.

Coulson stepped back and then heard a quick voice in his ear.

"Coulson? It's May."

"What's up?" Coulson asked once activating his comms. "I'm kind of busy here."

"We found Skye and she's alive, but barely. We need to get her medical attention now."

"I-I'm kind of busy here." Coulson stammered in relief and in fear.

"What do you mean that you're busy?"

"I found Ward."

"Ward? Where? It's bad isn't it?"  
"He thought that Skye was dead and had completely lost it. He's got me cornered and I'm trying to calm him down."

"Don't handle this all by yourself, Phil. He's psychotic, he'll kill you."

"Mel, trust me. I've got this. Just get Skye to safety."

He heard May hesitate.

"Fine, but take him down when you can. Me and Bobbi will try to get Skye out of here before the place burns to the ground."

She disconnected and Coulson turned back to Ward who was still slowly coming towards him. "Grant, calm down. That was May. Skye's alive, but barely."

Ward froze and blinked, "What?" he asked. "No, she's… She's dead."

"May and Agent Morse found her, she's alive but barely. We need to get her medical attention now."

Ward's demeanor turned harsh again. "You are not going to touch her!" he screamed. "Leave her alone!"

"Ward, that's not going to stop us from helping her." Coulson said sternly. "She can't go to a regular hospital. Imagine if the doctors drew her blood and found that she wasn't human. There would be a firestorm. She needs to get SHIELD sanctioned medical help where no one will ask questions." he continued.

Ward snarled, "No, you're not." he hissed.

"Have you really deteriorated this badly to where you're letting your hate get in the way of saving the girl you love?" Coulson asked. "Have you?"

"What?!"

"Ward, I know underneath all of that rage and flame there is a man struggling to do good. I know you were the one taking down those Hydra bases just last month. I know you were trying to do that to get back on my good side. And I know you thought that taking Skye into your protection would show that there really was good still left in you.

But something happened to you in that time frame, creating a monster. And you've let that darkness take you over. You're letting that darkness stop Skye from getting the help she needs.

Grant, honestly, I know there's a good man in you somewhere. But I don't see it right now. All I see is the monster controlling you. Take a good look at yourself. I don't think that you would like what you have become, and neither would Skye. You've become the monster you've been trying to avoid. Don't let it end everything today. Take a good look at yourself and ask yourself if this is what you really want. For Skye to die and to kill me, just because you've let a monster control you?" he asked.

Ward blinked, slightly tilting his head, "I- I don't understand." he said, his voice cracking.

"Take a good look at yourself" Coulson repeated.

Ward looked over and saw his black, flaming reflection in a window nearby. He slowly approached it, fear filling him. "Is this, is this really me?" he asked, holding a flame-covered hand towards it. "Is it?"

The sight of the black, flame-covered, red-eyed demon in front of him knocked some coherence into his mind. "Is this really what I have become?" he asked, looking fearfully at Coulson.

"I told you." Coulson said simply.

Coulson watched as the black flames melted off of Ward, revealing the man underneath. He looked horrible as well. Pale, weak and tired looking, and his glassed over eyes still filled with rage.

"There you go." Coulson said softly. "Now, we need to get Skye to safety. You can come with us if you want, watch her as she recovers. I don't care what you two do once she's better. And I won't shoot you, unless you try something funny." he continued.

Ward's face contorted into rage again, "I'm not going with your ass, even if Skye is with you." he hissed. "But she better come back once she's better."

"And she'll have that choice, Grant." Coulson said.

"Don't call me that." Ward snapped. "You don't have the right, only Skye."

Coulson held up his hands, "Fine, Ward. Whatever. But I'm going now, Skye will be back eventually."

Ward's face twitched, "And if I ever see your ass again, I'll kill you." he hissed. "I swear on it."  
"I'll stay out of your way." Coulson said. He started to go, but stopped when he saw Ward tense up. He looked at him, confused. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Ward didn't respond, but his eyes drifted to the building. Flames from the fire he caused had engulfed the cliff side of the building, quickly headed towards a medium-sized gas tank. There would be an explosion. And Coulson didn't know.

Ward was going to run and let Coulson fend for himself, but something just clicked in his mind despite his vow to kill him. He stayed and dashed towards Coulson.

Coulson froze, unsure of what the hell was going on as Ward threw himself on top of him. But then a massive explosion shook the ground and Coulson's vision went black as flames roared around him.

Everything went to hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Please comment!)


	21. Chapter Twenty-One (We Were The Sacrifice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye is rescued and the explosion takes a hellish turn...

(A Little Earlier)

"I think we should try to wake her up." Bobbi said. "If she's got enough strength left, we can help her walk out of here. If not, we'll have to carry her out."

May nodded, "That sounds fine. Hopefully she's strong enough."

Bobbi gently shook Skye's shoulder, "Skye, Skye?" she called. "Wake up."

Nothing.

She tried again, a little harder this time. "Skye!"

Skye jolted up and scampered back, her back pressed against the wall and the ground starting to shake beneath them, "Get the hell away from me!" she screeched. "Go!"

"Skye, it's us!" May exclaimed. "It's May and Bobbi!"

Skye blinked her glassed-over eyes, realizing who it was, "May? Bobbi?" she asked, her face lighting up. "You're here?"

Bobbi smiled, "Yes, and we're going to get you out of here." she said. "Before this place burns down. Can you stand?"

"I-I think so." Skye stammered as Bobbi helped her up to her feet. She wobbled a bit before steadying herself.

"We'll help you out of here, but we've got to hurry." May said, standing on the other side of Skye to give her support. "The place is burning."

Skye blinked and looked around, "Where's Ward?" she asked. "I remember seeing him earlier, before I, I passed out again."

May gave a hesitant glance towards Bobbi, who nodded, "He thinks you're dead, and went on a rampage. That's the reason why the base is burning. Coulson's dealing with him now." she said calmly.

Skye's eyes widened, "Coulson's gonna get hurt!" she exclaimed. "We've got to help him."

"No, we've got to get you back to the Bus and to medical help." Bobbi said. "He'll be fine."

Skye hesitated before nodding slightly and walking forward with the two agents' help. They were out the corridor and down the hallway when a massive blast shook the base and sent them to their feet.

Bobbi and May bolted up and helped Skye to her feet.

"What the hell was that?!" Skye exclaimed weakly. "What exploded?!"

May gulped, fearing that Ward caused the explosion, "I-I don't know." she stammered. "But we need to get out of here before something blows again."

"No! We need to find Ward and Coulson!" Skye yelled.

"Skye, you're too weak." Bobbi said. "I'm surprised that you're up and walking. We've got to get you back to the Bus, then May and I will go find Coulson and Ward."

Skye shook her head firmly, "No, I'm going with you." she said. "I'll be fine. We need to worry about Ward and Coulson."

"Skye," May began.

"I'm going, that's that." Skye said. "I feel fine. I'm tired and a little woozy, but I'm fine. I'm going to help."

"You've been held captive by Hydra for four days, Skye." May stated.

"I'm going."

Bobbi and May hesitated, but eventually agreed to let Skye go with them. Hopefully nothing bad had happened yet.

 

(Current Time)

Coulson blinked, peeling himself off of the ground as the roar of the explosion died away. He stood and looked around, seeing that the cliff side of the building had been blown away, only debris and fire stood. What happened? Then it hit him.

Something had blown and Ward, despite his vow to kill him, had thrown himself on top of him to save him from the explosion. Coulson was unscathed, but where was Ward?

Coulson looked around, fear filling him. Where had the man gone? Had he been incinerated in the explosion? That couldn't be, he was a man of fire, fire couldn't possibly kill him. Could it?

Coulson thought the man had died for him, until the frightened cry turned his attention to the edge of the cliff. He froze in terror.

There was Ward, dangling over the side of the cliff, only his arms holding him up. His knuckles were stark-white as he held on for dear life onto the lifeless ground. And he was slowly slipping.

The arms of his jacket were singed and there were burn marks on his face, neck, and hands. He hadn't been spared from the blast, the blast had knocked him to the edge of the Earth.

The immense rage in his eyes was replaced by pure terror as he cried out, "Coulson!" he screamed. "Help me, please! Please!" He struggled as gravity tried to pull him to his death below. His grip was still slowly slipping.

Coulson stood frozen, not knowing what to do. He was still trying to process the fact that Ward had just saved him, and it still didn't make sense. Half of him wanted to see the man fall to his death, but the other half wanted to save him.

But the fear etched into the man's brown eyes pierced Coulson's soul.

"Coulson, please!" Ward screamed again, about to lose his grip. "I'm sorry, for everything! I'm sorry for wanting to kill you! Please help me! Don't let me die!" he screeched in terror. "Please! Help me!"

Coulson hesitated for a few seconds longer, which felt like an eternity for Ward, before dashing forward towards the man. But those few seconds of hesitation would be the determinate factor to whether Ward lived or died.

Ward screamed in terror as Coulson ran forward, sliding across the ragged ground and holding a hand out. But Ward didn't get to grab Coulson's hand. Ward's grip on the ground above finally gave right as Coulson slid to grab him. Coulson was too late, his hesitation cost him Ward's life.

Coulson watched in fear, arm still outstretched, as Ward slipped from the edge and plummeted to the overhang 100 feet below, his terrified screams piercing the smoke-filled air.

Everything fell down around Coulson as the sickening thud of Ward's body slamming into the rock below echoed in his ears. His arm dropped and so did his head as the realization hit him that he allowed Ward to die, to fall to his death. He hesitated in saving the man, and his hesitated caused Ward to plummet 100 feet off the side of a cliff.

Coulson continued to stare down at Ward's broken body lying on the rock below. He had killed the man. His hesitation killed the man. Ward had saved him and when it came for Coulson to return the favor, he had failed.

Everything became numb as Coulson's failure settled into his mind. The failure that was Ward's broken body on the overhang below.

Skye was alive, but Ward was gone. Gone. Coulson had wanted to see the man suffer for his betrayal, but when it came down to seeing the man in terror, hanging on for his life, it wasn't worth it. It never was.

All Ward wanted was to be a hero again and had tried, but was thrown down a dark, twisted path that ended in a rocky grave. A grave. Ward was gone, because of him.

Gone. He was gone.

Grant Ward was gone.

Dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two (I Reached For You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team reacts to Ward's 'accident'.

Falling, he was falling. The wind whipped around him, sending his jacket in a thousand different directions. Falling. Is this what death felt like? Screaming for someone to catch you as you plummeted to the cold, hard ground below you? Is this what it was like?  
He tried to summon the flames so they could somehow break his fall, but nothing came. His powers failed him. Nothing. There was nothing for him anymore but death.

Foot after foot as he fell, he watched as Coulson grew smaller, fear etched into the older man's eyes. Falling, faster and faster. He braced himself for what would be his rocky grave.

A loud crack sounded as he body slammed into the cold, hard rock. He tried to scream as pain shot through his body, but not a single sound came out. It felt as though every bone in his body shattered. He knew there were at least a few bones broken.

He tried to keep his eyes open, but darkness started to take hold. His head had slammed into the rock, there was no help for him. No help, no chance. This was his death.

Numbness started to settle in as he stared above towards Coulson, who was still frozen in place. He tried to move, but nothing would work. Darkness. Death. Oh, it sounded so nice right now.

His eyes fluttered close as Death came to greet him. This was his death, a cold, rocky death.

His body still as darkness took it over.

This was Grant Ward's death.

* * *

Coulson stared numbly at Ward's broken body 100 feet below him. He had killed him, he had failed to save the man. The man had plummeted 100 feet to his death below. He had killed him.

Coulson stayed on his knees, continuing to stare down at the overhang below. Ward's last words were 'help me', which was something Coulson failed to do. Failure hung over him like a massive, black storm cloud.

This would always be on Coulson, forever and always. Skye would probably blame him for it for years to come, no matter what he told her. It would always be his fault. Always.

Coulson didn't hear the footsteps behind him, not until a weak, questioning voice called out his name.

"Coulson?"

Skye, it was Skye.

Coulson looked up numbly, seeing Skye along with Bobbi and May. "Skye?" he asked softly. "You're okay?"  
"Pretty much." Skye replied. "But what about you? What's wrong? What was that explosion?" she asked, looking around. Her face fell, "Where's Grant?" she asked.

Coulson's stomach dropped, there it was. How in the hell was he going to explain to her that Ward fell to his death just moments before? How? "H-He…. He's…." he began.

May blinked, "Phil, where is he?" she asked. "You told me that you were dealing with him, then there was that explosion. What happened?"

"He's…. Gone…" Coulson croaked out.

"Gone?" Skye asked, her voice falling. "W-What do you mean he's gone?"

"Coulson, what's going on?" Bobbi asked. "What exactly happened?"  
Coulson glanced to the overhang below, "He… He fell… The explosion, he, he jumped on top of me to protect me for some reason. The blast must've knocked him to the edge, I, I couldn't get to him in time. He fell. He's dead."

The ground started to rumble slightly beneath them.

"What?!" Skye exclaimed. "He can't be dead! Not now, not after every single damn thing that has happened! Not now!"

May placed a hand on the young agent's shoulder, "Skye…"

Skye slapped May's hand off of her, "Don't even begin." she hissed. "There's no way that Grant is dead. A simple fall wouldn't kill him."

"It was 100 feet…" Coulson muttered.

"100 feet?! There's no way that that would kill him! Maybe a normal human being! But last time I checked, he's not human!" Skye yelled. "There's no way that he's dead!"  
Coulson slowly shook his head, slowly getting up, "Skye, there's no chance that he's alive. I saw him fall, I saw him hit the ground. There's no way anybody could've survived that. Not even him."

"Did you check?" Skye asked sternly, tears forming in her eyes. "Did you check?"

"How would I check?" Coulson asked. "That's a 100 foot drop, there's no way that I could get down there. Face it, Skye, he's gone. There's, there's no going back. It's my fault…."

"Of course it is!" Skye hissed. "And you're not even bothering to check that there could be just a slight chance that he's still alive! Do you even care?" she asked. "You come to get me, only to kill him. Well, I'm not going back to you ever again."  
"Skye, you need medical attention!" Bobbi exclaimed.

"I don't care!" Skye snapped, the ground shaking again. "I really don't. I'm not going anywhere with you, unless you get his body. Even if he's dead, you're not leaving his body here where Hydra can get to it. Imagine what Hydra can do with a body like his. Hell, they might resurrect him and create their own monster. Don't leave him behind."  
"Skye, how are we going to do that?" Coulson asked.

"You have Fitz, Mack, and Hunter with you right?" she asked.

Coulson nodded, "Yes, where are you going with this?" he asked.

"There has to be stuff on the Bus for this kind of emergency. You can go down there, tie him up, and pull him up." Skye said. "Even if he's really dead, we're not leaving him behind. Not so Hydra can get to him."

"Coulson? Will that work?" Bobbi asked.

"Possibly. Hunter probably can't pull anything with his shoulder, but Mack's strong enough and I think Fitz can handle it as well." Coulson replied. "So, so this could possibly work."

Skye gave a small, sad smile, "Please, Coulson. Help him out, even if he is really dead."

Coulson nodded, knowing this was the best he could do for the man, "I'll try."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Sir, we've lost the base. It went up in flames."

"Dammit. I assume it has something to do with Hellfire, doesn't it?" Strucker asked.

Grimswold shook his head, "Unfortunately yes, he found Subject Quake and went completely berserk. Then a SHIELD team came in, along with the Director. They took Quake back and reports say that Hellfire is dead. An gas tank exploded and threw him off the side of the cliff." he reported.

"Dammit." Strucker cursed again. "So we've lost two of our most valuable subjects to SHIELD and to death. This really sets us back, Grimswold." he said.

"Sir, what are we going to do now?" the young agent asked.

"I don't know. There has to be other Inhumans and Miracles out there just waiting for us. All we got to do is find them." Strucker said.

"Y-Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three (Fell Down Like Thunder)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are not what they really appear to be...

Bobbi and May led the injured Skye away from the cliff and back towards the Bus. Coulson had offered to stay with Ward's body as the two agents went to get Hunter, Fitz, and Mack. Skye would have to stay back at the Bus though, her little burst of 'I'm okay' was quickly deteriorating.

Skye stumbled as Jemma and May led her back towards the plane. Pain showing in her eyes and pale, sunken face.

May took note of this, "Skye, you're definitely staying back at the Bus. You convince us that you were fine when you're clearly not. I'll have Simmons stay with you and make sure that you're okay. We still don't know what Hydra did to you, and you don't either. You could get worse. Hopefully you'll be fine long enough for us to retrieve Ward."

Skye hesitated, "But… Oh, alright." she said. "But please get him. I don't want to lose him for good."

May gave Skye a soft smile as they came back to the Bus. As they walked in, Fitzsimmons, Hunter, and Mack all greeted them with arms wide open.

"Skye! You're alright!" Simmons exclaimed.

"More or less…" Skye muttered.

"Simmons, can you stay here and check her?" May asked. "While Fitz, Hunter, and Mack come with us."

Fitz raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what's going on?" he asked.

"It's Ward." Bobbi said. "He's dead."

Hunter frowned, "Wait, what?"

May explained to them of what Coulson had told them. "Well, we think he's dead. I don't think that anybody can survive a fall like that. Coulson ordered us to retrieve his body."

The air hung heavy around the agents, they weren't sure of exactly what to say. They didn't like the man, but for him to die like that… They felt horrible.

"And, well, how are we going to do that?" Hunter asked.

"I think there's some climbing equipment in storage." Fitz said. "That, that might work."

"I'll go find it." Mack said, walking off.

Simmons looked to the weary, injured Skye, "Come on Skye, let's get you to the lab and make sure you're alright."

Skye nodded weakly, feeling way worse that she did just a few minutes ago. Her high or whatever it was had vanished. She followed Simmons slowly into the Bus' lab.

Mack came back a few minutes later with an assortment of ropes, hooks, and a few other things. "Is this it?" he asked.

May nodded, "That's it." she said. "Come on, before we are actually way too late."

* * *

They returned back to Coulson with the gear. As Bobbi, May, and Coulson started to set the gear up, Mack, Hunter, and Fitz took a look at Ward's body on the overhang below.

"Oh my God." Fitz muttered. "I-I don't think that there's even a, uh, chance that he's still alive."  
Hunter looked back towards Coulson, "Coulson, are you sure that there's a possibility?" he asked. "'Cause I don't think there is."

"I don't know." Coulson said, coming over and handing Hunter a rope. "But I'm doing this for Skye, it's what she wanted. But if there is a chance that he's still alive, I'll take it."

Coulson looked to Mack, "Mack, you're going down with me." he said, securing the climbing gear on himself. "Everyone else will stay up here and help host him up. Hopefully, somehow he made it."

Mack nodded, "Yes, sir." he said, grabbing his own gear and securing it on himself.

Once all the gear was set up, Coulson and Mack started their descent down the 100 foot drop, foot by foot. It took a bit, but they dropped to the overhang, just behind Ward's broken body.

Coulson's stomach froze, fully seeing Ward's body. His left arm stuck out at a weird angle, so did his right ankle, and a small pool of blood was coming from behind his head. Cut littered his face along with burns. His clothes were singed and torn. There was no sign of breathing.

Mack let out a low whistle, "Coulson, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think that he's alive."

Coulson shook his head, "I'm not going to say that until I know." he said, kneeling down next to the man. He took two fingers and placed in on the vein on Ward's neck, trying to find a pulse. Nothing. But Coulson didn't give up quite yet. A few seconds later, there came a small little throb of a heartbeat.

Coulson's breath was sucked out of him. Alive? Ward was still alive? How did he beat the odds?

He looked back up at Mack with a soft smile, "He's alive, but barely." he said. "We need to get him out of here."

Mack's face fell, "Wait,  _how?"_ he asked. "There's no damn way."

"I don't know, but help me but the gear on him. Be careful, his arm and ankle are most likely broken. And I wouldn't be surprise, by the sight of that blood, that his head is cracked open. Be careful."  
Hunter called out from above, "You ready, lads?" he asked.

"Not yet!" Coulson yelled. "But good news, he's alive!"

"What?"

"Ward's alive!"

"How?! Did I hear you right?"

Coulson ignored Hunter and the two agents got Ward hooked up to the gear. Coulson gave a thumbs up to signal for the agents above to start hoisting Ward up slowly. Inch by inch, Ward was pulled up carefully, followed by Coulson and Mack to make sure he didn't hit anything.

After a few minutes, they got Ward to the top and Hunter and Fitz helped settle him to the ground and took the gear off of him. As soon as Coulson and Mack were standing, Hunter looked at them.

"I'm sorry, did you say that he's alive?" he asked.

Coulson nodded, "Somehow, yes. I don't know how, but I guess whatever make him not human saved him. There's a slight heartbeat. His arm and ankle are broken and I believe his head might have something split open."

Bobbi nodded, "I'll call Simmons, let her know that we're coming back and leaving immediately."

She went off to call Simmons.

Coulson turned back to his agents, "Now, Fitz, Hunter, get the gear. May, Bobbi, Mack, and I will get Ward so we can get back to the Bus as soon as we can." he said.

The agents nodded.

Bobbi soon came back, a worried look on her face, "I called Simmons, she said that Skye fell unconscious soon after we left. And she can't get her to wake up. Simmons doesn't know what's wrong."

"Dammit." Coulson spat. "I thought I was saving two people today, and it looks like we're going to lose them. Bobbi, help us get Ward back to the Bus." he ordered. "We need to get back to the base and to the medical wing as fast as that damn plane can take us. We're not losing anyone today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four (Couldn't Get Out From Under)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye's okay, but Ward's far from so.

(Elsewhere)

He screamed as darkness surrounded him, leaving him as blind and defenceless as a newborn dog. Something wet, warm, and sticky peppered his bare arms. He didn't even want to begin to think what it was.

Trying to fight his way through the pitch-black darkness, he found that he couldn't move. He was stuck in place, unable to move even a single limb. He let out a screech as more of the wet, warm, sticky liquid dripped onto him from out of completely nowhere.

His stomach froze, hearing whispers ooze their way out of the blackness. They started as low, hushed voices, but began to grow louder and louder, eventually to the point where he couldn't stand it. But he couldn't move to cover his ears, he was left to suffer to the cascade of screams.

" _Why did you let yourself become that_ _ **monster**_ _?! I thought you wanted to protect me! That'll only end up getting me_   _ **killed**_ _! Stay away!"_

" _Whatever you were striving to become, that's gone now. You weren't capable of ever being a_ _ **hero**_   _ever again. Why did you even try? You're always going to_ _ **fall**_ _to the_ _ **darkness**_   _inside of you._ _ **Don't even try**_ _."_

" _Who are you anymore? Because I don't see a_ _ **man**_ _, only_ _ **a monster**_   _consumed in the flames of the_   _ **deepest hell.**_   _You don't even exist anymore."_

" _Just_ _ **stay away**_   _from us, don't ever come back."_

" _Throwing yourself on top of me_ _ **won't change a thing**_ _. You only risked your life for_   _ **nothing.**_   _Now you're gone and you're never coming back. Good. Now we have to live in_   _ **fear of a complete monster**_ _."_

The screams grew worse by the second, getting harsher and harsher. They were slowly destroying him word by word. He recognized most of the voices as the team, Skye, Coulson, May, even Fitzsimmons. But there were a few he could make out through the terrifying agony.

And just like that, the voices stopped as soon as they came, leaving him in deafening silence. Then the blackness around him brightened into a low, red light, bathing him in the crimson hue.

He could now make out his surroundings just a bit. Nothing, there was nothing for miles on end. And he was still frozen in place. He glanced down at his body, freezing even more in terror. It could've just been the light, but the thick liquid looked oddly like…

" _Blood?"_ he croaked out, his voice hoarser than he remembered. "Where did the blood come from."

"Your friends." a deep, hissing, crackling voice screeched out. "The blood that will come since you allowed me to take over."

" _What_?" he asked, looking to see a mass of flame striding his way. "W-Who are you?" he stammered, trying to get away as the black flames came closer.

"Who, me?" it asked, stopping a foot in front of him.

He could feel the heat radiating off of the creature, "W-What are you?"  
"It's silly to ask that when you already know." it laughed. It's piercing red eyes flickered and the black flames snuffed out on its head, revealing an all too familiar man.

He shook, trying to get away, "N-No." he stammered. "I-I can't…. I can't…"

His own reflection smiled at him, red eyes blazing, "I'm you." it laughed, fading away just like that.

And he could finally move, he fell to his knees trembling. The deafening silence of the dark around him numbed his confused him. As he succumbed back to the darkness, he finally realized one thing.

Grant Ward was alone, only accompanied by the monster he had become.

* * *

(Back in Reality, A Day After Skye and Ward's Rescues.)

Coulson looked hesitantly as Simmons came out of the medical wing. Ward had been in surgery for several hours. Skye hadn't needed surgery and had been in and out of unconscious for the past several hours. Ward was another story.

"How is he?" Coulson asked.

Simmons sighed, "They were able to surgically repair his ankle and elbow, which both were practically shattered. His head had to be stapled, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has brain damage."

"What?" Coulson asked, heart skipping a beat.

"Ward's head was messed up pretty bad, and I don't think that even he could get away without some kind of trauma." Simmons said sadly. "And, and you know how that can go."

Coulson blinked, remembering Fitz's ordeal. "Where is he now?"

"In an infirmary room under heavy sedation to prevent any, well,  _incidents_  from happening if he wakes up." Simmons stressed 'incidents' very heavily. "But I don't expect him to wake up anytime soon, or at all for that matter. The fall messed him up pretty badly. And I'm surprised that Skye is doing so well." she explained. "Despite all of the blood she lost."

"Has she been waking up?" Coulson asked.

"Off and on, but not for long. As soon she wakes up, she passes back up. But I expect that to clear up soon." Simmons explained.

"So it's only Ward we have to worry about?" Coulson asked.

Simmons nodded slowly and sadly, "I don't even expect him to come out of this. And if he does, he won't be the same." she stated. "I would expect head trauma like that to do something major. And it could be anything from amnesia to a total personality change. So if he wakes up, we need to be cautious around him for a while."

"A total personality change?" Coulson questioned, his stomach dropping. "Like what?"

"I may be a little drastic in saying total. It could even be small, he could become more aggressive for instance." Simmons replied.

" _More aggressive?"_  Coulson stressed. "Great."

"I'm just being facetious." Simmons said. "Only stating a mere possibility. That's all."

"That doesn't sound mere to me." Coulson said. "You know how he was before the fall. Do you want him getting worser than that?"

Simmons shook her head frantically, "N-No." she stammered. "It's just that we have no clue to what could happen to him, that's all. It's like Russian Roulette if he wakes up, we may get the bullet or not. It's matter of chance." she explained.

Coulson sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "Great." he muttered. "That's just great. Lets just hope the odds are going to be in our favor."  
Simmons didn't quite know what to say, "I'll keep checking in on him, hopefully something will change for the better soon. As of right now, he's out cold with no signs of waking up anytime soon. I'll let you know if there's any changes." she said.

Coulson nodded softly. "Good, that'll be fine. Now I've got to find the rest of the team and tell them the update. Believe it or not, they actually want to know what's going on with Ward. It's hard to believe how our attitudes towards the man has change seeing him this close to death.

I know tensions will still be high around him if he wakes up, but for some reason I believe that they will change over time. It may take a long time, but they probably will."

"Sir, don't you realize if he survives, he's not going to stay here?" Simmons asked. "He'll leave as soon as he can."

"I know that, Simmons." Coulson said with a sigh. "And I know that Skye will too when the time comes."

* * *

(Just Down the Hall)

Skye woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. Her heart was racing, causing the heart monitor next to her to start beeping like crazy. It would be a matter of time before a medical agent came rushing in to check on her.

Her mind was a fog. What exactly happened? She remembered the Hydra base, Bobbi and May coming to get her, Ward, then nothing. The memory of Ward came rushing back to her, making her feel sick.

The man had plummeted 100 feet as a consequence of trying to save Coulson. And the man was most likely dead, as far as her memory served. She remembered pleading for Coulson to recover his body, then nothing. It went blank.

Tears started to form in her eyes, her mind registering the fact that Ward was probably dead. She started to sob as she heard a British voice shout.

"Skye! You're awake!"  
Skye turned to see Fitzsimmons and Hunter all standing just inside her room, surprised looks on their faces.

Simmons came over and started to check her vitals.

"Where's Ward?" Skye asked through a sob. "Where's Grant? He's dead isn't he?"

Simmons hesitated, looking back at Fitz and Hunter, "Well, he's…" she began.

"He's what?" Skye asked

"He's… Alive." Simmons continued, still hesitating.

"T-There's a problem, isn't there?" Skye asked, relieved that Ward was somehow alive, but catching Simmons' hesitation and nervousness.

"It's not looking well." she said. "He had to have major surgery to repair his elbow and ankle, which were broken beyond belief. And his head was cracked open pretty badly. that had to be repaired and stapled. And at this point, we're expecting there to be brain damage by the looks of that amount of head trauma."

Fitz shuttered.

"Brain damage? Head trauma?" Skye asked solemnly. "A-Are you saying that…" she trailed off.

"I'm saying that, if he wakes up, he won't be the same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five (This Heart That I Misplaced)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds that Ward isn't doing so well...

(Two Days Later)

"I'm sure that he'll be fine." Hunter said, looking at a grief-stricken Skye who was sitting up weakly in her hospital bed. "Well, that's what Simmons said anyways."

Skye blinked slowly, looking off to the side, "What did she say anyways?" she asked. "She won't tell me what's going on, and neither will Coulson. Is it some kind of secret?"

Hunter shrugged, shifting in his chair, "I don't know. Well, actually, all I know is that he's still asleep and won't wake up. And it looks like he keeps having nightmares or something, because he keeps twitching in his sleep, there's rapid eye movement or something, and he occasionally lets out a scream. I really don't know what it is."

"Then how come I don't hear the screams?" Skye asked.

"Probably 'cause you're asleep most of the time." Hunter said. "And apparently he only does it every so often."

"Why can't I see him?" Skye asked quietly, looking down at her blanket-covered lap. "Why can't I go and see him?"

Hunter took a breath, "Skye, you're not supposed to be getting out of that bed anytime soon. I'm surprised that Simmons let you sit up already."

"I want to see him."

Hunter shook his head, "You probably can later, but you can't right now. You're still sick and Ward, well, he's still out of it. It probably won't be good for you. The stress, the exercise."

Skye blinked again, and didn't say anything in response.

"Skye," Hunter began.

Still no response.

"You'll get to see him sooner or later. It's just that Coulson and Simmons both want you in here resting." he said. "They're wanting the best for you. You'll get to see him."

Skye looked down, shifting underneath the blanket, "Yeah, but I want to see him now." she said quietly where Hunter couldn't hear her. "Because the next time I might see him, he may be being closed into a coffin."

* * *

(Later that Night.)

Skye looked around her darkened, quiet infirmary room, seeing and hearing that no one was around. Going slowly, she swung her weak legs over the side of the bed and letting her bare feet touch the cold, hard floor. She grabbed onto her IV pole for support and stood shakily, her legs aching from a few days of no use.

Catching her balance, Skye slowly took one step after another and headed towards the door of her room. If no one was going to let her see Ward, then she was going to do it herself.

She peeked out into the hallway and saw that it was completely empty, but it was the middle of the night. Carefully, with only the soft squeaking of the pole's wheels sounding out, Skye made her way down the hallway towards the open door of Ward's room.

She headed inside, freezing at the sight of Ward's face. There was no light in the room, expect a low, soft light from the heart monitor next to the man. But the low light that lit his face made him appear to be a skeleton.

As she approached him closer, she saw that his face was sunken in and littered with cuts from the fall. His arm in was in cast and his propped-up ankle was in one as well.

The slow, soft beat of the man's heart shown by the heart monitor was the only sound in the quiet room, except the low hush of his breathing. And of course, he was still asleep, with no signs of waking up.

And he would probably never would, Skye was starting to accept that. The medical agents had been able to scan his brain, and that showed that there was some damage to the back of it, and even some to the front as well. Meaning that he had hit the front of his head as well, or the shock of the impact did something. They said that the part affected were his frontal lobe and cerebellum. So they said he could problems with memory to behavior (temporal) or problems with coordination and balance (cerebellum). And that frightened Skye.

There was no telling to what could happen when, well, if he woke up. And that was a scary thought.

Skye continued to look at the broken man with a heavy heart. She didn't know what to do other than stand there. He was asleep with no signs of waking up. And it hurt to look at him in that condition. It made her feel sick. And partially responsible as well.

She was the one that he was trying to save before going rampant, trying to save Coulson, and then falling to his doom. So she could say that it was her fault for Ward being like this. If she hadn't of let Hydra take her, if she just fought a little bit harder…

No, she shook her head. She couldn't have prevented any of this. It was Hydra's fault. It was Hydra's fault for messing him up. Everything was their fault.

She couldn't handle any of it any longer. She needed to go back before her emotions got the best of her. Before she managed to create a massive earthquake that would kill them all. She needed to get out of here.

Gripping her IV pole, Skye turned around and started to head out of the room. But a soft squeak and a shuffle stopped her. Movement, from Ward's bed.

Then she heard the soft, hoarse voice calling out for her, "Skye? Skye is that you?"

Ward.

Skye gulped, unsure of what to do. Was he talking in his sleep, or was he awake? But how could he be awake?

She slowly turned around, seeing Ward's pale face looking at her,a small, weak smile on his face. "G-Grant?" she asked.

His smile grew slightly, "Skye? Where am I?" he asked. "Why am I bandaged up? Why do I hurt?"

Skye frowned. Did he not remember his fall? The trauma must've wiped his memory of that. She didn't say anything.

"Skye, where are we?" he asked again.

"The Playground base." she finally said, quietly.

"Where?"

"Coulson's base. You were hurt and you've been unconscious for three days." Skye tried to explain.

Ward didn't say anything in return. Skye looked at him a while, before his smile turned into a confused frown.

"Who are you?" he asked, slightly tilting his head.

Skye's heart skipped a beat. Did he just say what she thought he said? "Grant, it's me, Skye."

"I don't know a Skye."

Skye started to shake. How did her forget her in a matter of seconds? Was it just the fact that he was still possibly half-asleep, or was something way worse wrong? Skye didn't even stay, she started to leave as fast as she could.

"Wait, don't leave me here alone." Ward said quietly. "I don't want to die alone."

Skye made it down the hall and back into her room as quickly as she could. She didn't want to stay in that hellhole any longer.

Was it possible that Ward had somehow forgotten her? Was it? She slipped back into her bed as best as she could and started to sob. She was too grief-stricken by Ward's statement for her powers to even start reacting to her spiraling emotions.

But was that one thing possible? Had Grant Ward really forgotten who Skye was?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six (Only Silence)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward wakes up, but knows that something is wrong.

Skye woke up the next morning, eyes still red and her head pounding from the tragedy that was the night before. She didn't understand it at all. Ward had called her by name moments before totally forgetting who she was. How was that possible at all? Just how badly was Ward's head messed up by the fall?

She continued to stare at the wall, until a overly-peppy British accent caught her attention.

"Oh, good, Skye! You're awake!"

Skye turned to see Simmons rushing into the room, clearly in a good mood for no reason, "What's with all the pep?" she asked, frowning. "Did Fitz finally ask you out?"

Simmons blushed, "W-What? N-No!" she exclaimed, clearly flustered. "I have really good news, that's all."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what's going on?" she asked. "What's the good news?"

"Ward's showing signs that he's gonna wake up soon. Even though that could be a few hours from now to possibly a day or too. But it'll probably be soon." Simmons explained.

"Really?" Skye asked, not excited as she should've been. She had already seen Ward wake up, he probably had fell unconscious again soon after she left. To be honest, she was afraid for when he woke up. If it was anything like last night…

"You don't sound too excited." Simmons commented, taking note of Skye's lack of joy for the news. "What's the matter?"

Skye gulped, "It's just that… It's just that we don't know what's going to happen when he wakes up. He could be completely unstable and kill us all. He could possibly not remember who any of us are. It's like playing Russian Roulette, like you said. We either get the bullet, or we don't. But in this case there are several bullets and only a small number of empty chambers."

Simmons nodded softly, "Skye, I know these kind of things are completely unpredictable. But you've got to keep your hopes up. You can't keep convincing yourself that something horrible is going to happen. Just keep thinking about the good things. He's alive. There. Be glad that he's alive. Yes, he could be completely unstable, and yes he might have had his memory wiped of us all. But those things can probably be fixed over time." she explained. "Just don't keep thinking about all of the negatives, focus on the positives."

Skye looked down, not saying anything.

Simmons sighed, "Skye, he'll be fine. He's got someone like you to watch over him." she said. She looked at the door, "I'll go see if someone has your breakfast." she stated, walking out of the room and leaving Skye alone.

Skye watched her friend go and looked back down to the white sheets of her bed, "How am I supposed to help him when it seems like he doesn't even remember who I am?" she murmured to herself. "How?"

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Ward groaned as harsh, white light filtered into his sore eyes. He peeled them open, finding himself in what seemed to be a hospital type room. Everything hurt, especially his head. It felt as though someone had slammed it into concrete then beat it repeatedly with a hammer.

He tried to move but found that his left arm was stuck in a full arm cast and his right ankle was casted as well and propped up. What happened? Nothing came across his mind that told him what happened. Blank. Nothing was there about being hurt like this.

And it also felt like several other things were missing as well, he just didn't know what though.

He tried to rub his sore head with his free hand, but found it to be wrapped heavily in layers of gauze. What exactly had happened for him to be like this? He remembered Skye, something about Hydra, Coulson, and fire. That's all. He couldn't piece anything back together. Everything else was blank

Skye. That was the next word that popped into his head.

Where was she? He didn't even know where he was or how he got here. Where was he? This place didn't look like anywhere he knew.

Was this Hydra? No, it wouldn't be Hydra. Hydra would've locked him away and had cut him apart by now. Hydra wasn't this kind. They wouldn't of have given him medical attention like this.

Then who was it? Nobody would be willing to help him. Unless…

"Ward."

The voice came so suddenly, that it spooked Ward. Not just that it came out of nowhere, but the person who the voice belonged to.

Ward looked over to see Coulson standing in the doorway of the room.

SHIELD. He was in a SHIELD facility, possibly Coulson's base. But why would SHIELD help him? What had happened that made them decide to give him medical treatment? Last thing he remember was that every single person on the team, except Skye, hated his guts and wanted to see him dead.

What happened?

"Coulson?" Ward asked, voice laced with confusion.

Coulson gave a slight smile, something that Ward hadn't seen from the man in a while, coming into the room. "You're awake." he said.

"Awake?" Ward questioned. "How long have I been out?"

"About five days." Coulson replied. "We rescued you and brought you back here."

"Rescued me?" Ward asked. "Why the hell would you do that? Last time I checked, you wanted to kill me. You're still going to do that, aren't you?"

Coulson shook his head, "No, no, no. I'm not going to do that." he said. "As long as you don't try to kill me or any of my team."

Ward frowned, "Why would I want to kill you?" he asked. "I have nothing to do with you. I could care less about you. Why would I want to kill you?"

Coulson's face fell, realizing that Ward didn't remember his crazed vow to kill him. "Ward, what do you remember from the past few weeks?" he asked.

"It's all a blur, why?"

"Just tell me what you remember."

"Uh, I was with Skye for some reason, then there was Hydra, something about you…" Ward's face scrunched up. He looked at Coulson, "I-I don't know. I can't remember…. What's going on?" he asked."Why can't I remember?"

"Do you remember why you were with Skye?" Coulson asked.

Ward shook his head, "I wanted to protect her for some reason? I-I don't know."

"Do you remember the name Hellfire?"

"It has something to do with me, right?" Ward asked, clearly confused. "I-I remember something about me and fire… I control fire, right?"

Coulson nodded slightly.

"How?"

Coulson frowned, "What?"

"How do I control fire? What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?"

Ward shook his head again, "No, I don't. Coulson, what's going on? What's with all of these questions? What happened to me?" he asked, fear clearly showing in his brown eyes.

Coulson gulped, "It's a long story, and I don't have all of the details of it."

"Just tell me what the hell is wrong with me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven (Hymn for the Missing)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward awakes and Skye is glad.

Ward's sharp, harsh scream made Coulson wince, reminding him of the time just not too long ago when the man was going pretty much crazy. He was sure that Ward didn't mean for it to come out that way, it was just that too many things were happening at once.

"Tell me what the hell is wrong with me!" Ward screamed again, pleading for an answer.

Coulson gulped, searching for the right answer. "Uh, ah, you fell." he finally said after a while. "You were trying to save Skye from a Hydra base and there was an explosion when you were outside of the base. The blast knocked you off the side of the cliff and you fell 100 feet to an overhang below. We found you barely alive when we arrived we assume not too much long later." he explained.

Ward blinked, "A-And that's the actual story?" he asked, a tremor in his voice.

Coulson nodded, despite that his story wasn't the true thing. He didn't want to mention that Ward went completely crazy, became a monster, then vowed to kill Coulson, and then finally had almost died protecting. Coulson assumed that it was better to keep that from Ward. If Ward didn't remember any of it, just keep it from him. A big 'revelation' like that would possibly mess with Ward's mind.

"Yes, I am." Coulson said.

"Why can't I remember what happened?" Ward asked, looking down. "Why can't I?"

"The medical agents said that the fall cracked your head wide open and resulted in brain damage to your frontal lobe and cerebellum. They said that you could possibly have memory problems, balance problems, problems with thinking, and even behavioral problems. It's really hard to tell. So far it looks like memory problems." Coulson tried to explain. "I'll get Simmons and some medical agents in here to give you a full eval."

Ward swallowed, "Why, why are you helping me?" he asked. "I thought that you hated me, that you would rather see me dead than help me. Why are you being so generous?"

Coulson scratched his head, "Ward, I have my reasons." he said. "You helped to protect Skye and helped to take down Hydra bases. I guess it's about time I give you somewhat of a second chance while you recover. I figure, despite all of your injuries, that it won't take you that long to heal. Probably a few weeks at the most."

Ward frowned, "Why?" he asked.

"You're not fully human, remember?" Coulson said.

Ward blinked, "Oh, yeah. That."

"And that's probably the reason to why you survived a fall of that height." Coulson continued. "It somehow protected you from being killed, but it didn't keep you from being unscathed."

"I'm broken, aren't I?" Ward asked solemnly.

"Ward, we don't even know the extent of your injuries yet, so don't start calling yourself broken at this point. We need to see how far the brain damage went, and that could probably take a while."

Ward tried to shift in bed, but found it virtually impossible because of his leg, "H-How will you know what's wrong with me?" he asked.

"I'm not the one to be asking about that kind of stuff." Coulson said. "Like I said, I'll get Simmons in here. She and the medical agents actually do need to know that you're awake at this point."

Ward nodded, "Fine."

* * *

(About an Hour Later.)

Skye woke up, slowly sitting up in her infirmary bed and blinking to try and get the sleep that was stuck in her eyes. She stretched and looked around the room, finding that no one else was in there. That was strange, there was always someone in here. Either it be Coulson or May, or Hunter and Fitzsimmons, someone was always in here.

Fear started to fill her gut. Was something wrong? Did something happen to Ward? Was he dead?

Honestly, she didn't want to know. But then that all-too familiar, comforting voice drifted into the room.

" _Simmons, for the fifth time, I don't remember! Stop asking!"_

Disbelief replaced the fear as she fully realized who had yelled. Ward. It was Ward, and he sounded coherent.

She found herself getting out of bed. She forgot that she didn't need to reach for her IV pole, since she had been taken off of the IV the day before. And she was much steadier on her feet than two days ago since Simmons had her walking majority of the day yesterday. So she figured that she could handle the short walk from her room to Ward's.

Both fear and joy filled her at the same time. She was joyful that Ward seemed to be awake and coherent, but she was also afraid that he still didn't remember who she was. She feared that she would walk in there and Ward would ask that one question that would stop time again. 'Who are you?'

But Skye shrugged this off and walked out of the room, slowly to avoid overexerting herself. As she headed down the hallway and towards Ward's open door, his voice grew louder.

" _Simmons, I swear my arm feels ok. Other than it's stuck in a giant cast!"_

Skye approached the open door and saw into the room, seeing Coulson and May watching Simmons and another medical agent prodding at an awake, yet weak-looking, Ward, who was arguing with them.

Coulson glanced towards the door and blinked when he saw Skye. He smiled and gave a small wave to signal for her to come in. May saw her as well and smiled too.

Skye came in the room and stood by Coulson and May. She stayed quiet, trying to see how long it would take Ward to notice her. And if he would recognize her at that.

"Simmons, please, I'm fine." Ward said, grimacing as the medical agent drew blood.

"You've been unconscious for four days and you have several injuries." Simmons shot back. "You're far from fine."

"But you've got to stop…." He trailed off as his eyes drifted in Skye's direction and he saw her. A soft smile filled his face, "Skye." he said softly. "Y-You're okay."

Skye couldn't stop herself from smiling, seeing that Ward did remember her. Whatever had happened that night, well, she didn't want to think about it. She walked towards the man's bed as Simmons and the medical agent stepped aside, "Grant, you're awake." she said.

"Well I guess I am." Ward said, scratching the bandage on his head. "Other than the fact that there's gonna be a massive scar on the back of my head and two of my limbs are broken."

"But at least you're alive, Sparky." Skye said.

Ward frowned, "Sparky?" he asked. "Why are you calling me that?"

Skye's face fell and she looked to Coulson, May, and Simmons for an answer. May stepped forward and whispered in her ear.

"His memory is really spotty of the last couple of weeks." she said. "Doesn't remember much other than he was trying to protect you and you got taken from Hydra. Doesn't remember becoming a monster and all of that. Coulson had to make up a story to avoid saying it. We're gonna try to keep the whole psychopathic monster stuff locked away, don't say anything about it to him. Just go with what he thinks."

Skye nodded softly and looked back to Ward, "It's my nickname for you, Grant." she said with a small smile. "Because you can set yourself on fire."

"Oh, ok. Whatever happened to Robot?" he asked.

"It's still there." Skye replied. "It's still there."

Skye was glad that Ward did remember her, but that didn't mean that Ward was okay. There were probably other problems lying just beneath the surface, waiting to arise. She knew it was going to be a while before everything was better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming! Sorry for the wait, forgot about it. It's been a long several days.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight (From The Ashes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get better.

(Three Days Later)

Skye sat near Ward's bed, watching as a medical agent helped him up. Ward was to be examined again to see how well he was healing. The lumped-up patch on the back of his head where it had split open was healing pretty rapidly, Simmons thought it was due to the fact that he wasn't human. She wanted to have Ward's casts taken off to see if his bones were healing as quick as the spot on the back of his head.

The past few days had actually been pretty easy, despite a few 'events'. Ward had a few bouts of anger when he couldn't remember the littlest of things, but Skye knew it wasn't due to the Berserker Rage, it was just Ward.

The team figured that Ward hadn't forgotten the big stuff, like the Hydra Uprising and his betrayal, but mostly small stuff. Mostly like small things the team had done, even a mission or two. The biggest thing that was missing was the past few weeks. And he seemed to develop a short-term memory problem, he would forget something he had just done or said.

But he seemed to have no other problems, other than that he was a little more quick to anger before. So hopefully everything was good.

Ward grimaced as the medical agent helped him stand. He was wobbly due to the fact that he had been in a bed for over a week and there was a giant cast on his ankle. The med agent helped him into a wheelchair next to the bed.

He looked at Skye, who was trying to stifle a smile, "Don't you dare start laughing, Skye." he said, looking sternly at her. "How would you like to be the one with a giant ass cast on your foot and arm? You're lucky that you only had major blood loss to recover from. And you recovered pretty fast at that."

Skye waved her hand in a dismissive fashion, "Yeah, but you're recovering really fast as well, Sparky." she joked. "Hell, that massive cut on the back on your head is almost gone."

"There's a massive, lumpy scar there. It's not gone."

"But still," Skye began.

"Whatever." Ward cut in, giving a slight smile. "Come on, I've got to go to wherever to get these damn things off. You can come too."

Skye sat up from the chair she was in, smiling, "I thought that you'd never ask."

* * *

(A Little Bit Later)

"Hey, watch it!" Ward exclaimed as a med agent tried to cut the cast off of his ankle.

Simmons rolled her eyes, "Well, Ward, if you would stay still."

"Him, stay still?" Skye asked. "He never sits down. He's like the Energizer Bunny or something."

"I heard that." Ward said.

"No, it's true." Fitz added in. "You never rest, even when you were originally with us."

Ward sighed and rolled his eyes as the cast came off.

Fitzsimmons still didn't believe that they were helping the man after everything. After his betrayal, after him going completely crazy. But after the fall and his days of unconsciousness, Ward seemed to be like the man he was before the Uprising. Actually, he was a lot nicer. It was like the fall changed him.

But they were still hesitant around him, afraid that the hellfire monster would show again, but there had been no sign of it.

Simmons held a handheld x-ray device up to Ward's ankle, seeing the remains of the damage. But there was none, the bones had completely healed. Simmons couldn't believe it.

"Ward, believe it or not, your ankle is completely fine." she said.

"What?" Ward asked.

"There's no signs of anything being damaged, it's healed up completely." Simmons replied. "It's completely fine."

"So does that mean my arm's fine as well?" Ward asked, flexing his tightened ankle.

"I-I guess so." Simmons stated. "It's incredible. Your ankle was completely shattered and in a matter of a week it's completely. Whatever is running through your veins has given you an incredible healing ability."

"No wonder why the fall didn't kill him." Skye said.

"You're not one to talk, Skye." Fitz said. "You recovered fast too."

"Well."

Ward winced again as the med agent cut the cast off of his arm and then Simmons checked it as well.

"Amazing, it's the same." she said. "Your arm's completely fine. Try it out."

Ward flexed his arm and found it completely usable. He couldn't believe it either.

"Try standing." Simmons said. "I don't know how stable you'll be, but I don't think you'll need any kind of support or anything."

Ward slid off the table and to his feet and found no problem with standing. He walked around a little and found that he was completely fine.

"Still amazing. It's incredible how fast you heal." Simmons commented. "Amazing."

"And you're not drawing any blood from me like you did with Skye." Ward said, looking at Simmons.

"What? I would,"

"Skye told me what you did after the GH stuff." Ward said. "All the blood you drew from her."

"Busted." Skye said with a laugh.

Ward smiled as Simmons sighed. He looked down in the hospital gown he was in, "Can I change now?" he asked. "Seeing that I'm pretty much fine?"

"Grant, I don't think you have any clothes here." Skye said. "What you were wearing is probably gone."

"I, uh, think there's a bag Coulson recovered from that motel in Tennessee or wherever that was Ward's or something." Fitz said. "I think he said all that was in it was some clothes and boots. Someone could probably ask Coulson for it."

"There you go, Sparky." Skye said.

"I guess it's my lucky day." Ward said with a slight smile.

Skye rolled her eyes, "Oh, please. Don't get so full of yourself now."

* * *

(Just a Little Later)

"Everyone's still amazed that you're up and walking." Skye said, looking at Ward who sat next to her on the couch.

"Well, I just glad that I'm in normal clothes again." Ward said, leaning back in the couch.

Skye raised her eyebrow, "Seriously, you survived a horrible fall and are completely fine other than some memory problems, and all you're glad about is that you're back in clothes?" she asked.

"Just saying." Ward said. "Too bad my jacket's gone though."

"And you're worrying about a jacket?" Skye asked.

"Hey, I had that jacket for a long time. It was my favorite."

Skye rolled her eyes, "Never mind. But do you know how glad I am that you're better?" she asked.

"Probably way more than I am that you're okay." Ward said, placing his arm around her.

"You'll never know." Skye muttered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

It was still the team's secret that Ward had went completely crazy and had threatened to kill them. And they were going to try to keep that from him as long as the monster stayed hidden.

"Well, whatever." Ward said. "Still feels like you all are keeping something from me. Is there something that I should know?" he asked.

Skye shook her head, "No, no." she said. "There's nothing."

Ward narrowed his eyes, "Whatever, I'll find out eventually."

"Whatever you say, Sparky."

Ward laughed and kissed Skye on the forehead.

Skye blushed and moved back, eyes widened, "Whoa, what was that?" she asked.

"A kiss?"

"I didn't think that we were that far yet." Skye said. "I was beginning to like you again before I was kidnapped, but not that much."

Ward threw his hands up, "I thought you liked me a lot more now."

Skye took a breath, "Look, Grant, I like you. I really do. I'm just not ready for a relationship like that yet."

Ward smiled softly, "Fine, I guess it can wait." he said. "Take your time, I'm, I'm not going to rush you."

"Thank you. And you're not as creepy as you were when you were in the Vault." Skye said.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Ward asked. "I guess?"

Skye smiled, "Grant, I'll promise everything will come around in time." she said. "Just not now."

"Whatever you say, Skye."

"Oi, you lovebirds, stop it!"

Skye and Ward blinked, turning to see Hunter and Bobbi walking into the room.

"Like you're one to talk, Lance." Skye said. "You and Bobbi are making out every chance you two get."

Bobbi took a breath, blushing.

"Whatever." Hunter said. He looked at Ward, "Coulson wants to see you for some reason."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. Why do you think I said 'for some reason'?" Hunter retorted.

"I can take it without the sarcasm, thank you." Ward shot back. "Cowboy."

"Out of all things, you remember that?!" Hunter exclaimed. "How?!"

"I don't know. It's still there, well somehow."

Bobbi rolled her eyes, "Would you two just stop?"

"Yeah," Skye agreed. "Just go see what Coulson wants, Sparky."

Ward sighed, "Fine." he huffed. "It better be good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming! Sorry about the wait, updating this slipped my mind.


	29. Chapter 29 (Can We Start Again?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson offers Ward a chance, but Ward denies. Him and Skye have better plans.

Ward took a deep breath as he approached Coulson's office. He had no clue to what the man wanted. He was afraid that Coulson was going to lock him up again. Finding the door to Coulson's office open, Ward knocked on it and went straight in.

"Coulson?" he asked.

Coulson looked up from the papers on his desk and pointed to the chair in front of the desk, "Sit, if you want." he said. "There's no need to be standing."

Ward nodded and sat down into the chair.

"You're looking really well." Coulson continued. "Simmons told me that everything was healed up, and in a matter of days at that too. Amazing."

"That's what everyone says." Ward said.

Coulson swallowed, "I'm glad that you're okay. Despite everything that has happened in the past year or so, it was still hard watching you die." Coulson looked down, "It was for everyone. And for all of that to happen to you just because you wanted to do something good…"

"Sir, you know I've changed." Ward began.

"And I know that." Coulson cut in. "That's why I'm giving you a choice."

Ward straightened up in his chair, "A choice?" he asked. "W-What kind of choice?"

"I'm offering you a place back here at the base. You can stay, if you want. If you really wanted to do something good, you'll have a chance here. Of course there'll be restrictions like you'll be monitored for a while and other things. But you'll still have a chance here.

After everything, I figured that it was best to at least give you another chance at being good." Coulson continued. "I'm not going to force my hand onto your decision. Whatever you say I'll be fine with. So, what do you say?" he asked.

Ward blinked and sighed, trying to figure out a response. "Coulson, honestly, I appreciate all of the help you've given me the past few days, I really do. But, I really don't think that now's the best time for me to be coming back to the team. I just want some more time alone, without fighting Hydra off. So my answer is, no, not right now."

Coulson pretty much expected Ward's answer, but it still came as a shock to him. He nodded, "Fine, whatever you say. I understand that you don't want to come back right now."

"Coulson, I'll come back eventually. I just want some time to myself where I'm not dying or anything." Ward said. "It's just that I don't think I'm ready to come back yet."

Coulson nodded again, "Fine. You know you're welcome back whenever you're ready." he said.

Ward smiled slightly, "Thank you, for understanding, sir."

Another nod. "I just have one condition though." Coulson said.

Ward raised an eyebrow, "What?" he asked.

"You stay a few more days." Coulson replied. "Just so we can make sure you're fully recovered. Once you're good, you're free to go."

Ward hesitated slightly, "Fine." he said after a while. "That sounds fine."

Coulson smiled, "Good, I just don't want you relapsing or anything."  
"Relapsing?" Ward asked, confused. "Sir, I don't think I'm going to fall unconscious again."

"Sorry, wrong word. You know what I mean. Like you have another memory episode where you can't remember anything for a while. You had one soon after you woke up." Coulson said. But what Coulson meant was that he didn't want Ward relapsing back into the monster, going crazy and trying to kill them again. But that was still a secret kept from Ward.

"Sir, I'm fine." Ward said. "I don't think anything is going to happen again. I'll be fine."

"Okay." Coulson said. And he added quietly to himself, "But I'm not holding my breath."

 

 

(Four Days Later)

"I'm going with Ward." Skye announced, looking at the team.

Dumbfounded looks filled the teams' faces.

"What?!" Simmons exclaimed. "You can't leave!" she exclaimed.

"Skye, think about what you're saying." Coulson said. "We already have Ward leaving."

"Coulson, my reasons for leaving is the same as Grant's." Skye breathed. "I'm just not ready to stay yet. Honestly, I want some time alone with Grant before I fully commit myself back to the team again."

"Yeah, sure, 'some time alone'." Hunter joked.

Bobbi elbowed him and May shot him a look.

"Just saying."

"Hunter, get your head out of the gutter." Mack said. "This is serious."

Hunter rolled his eyes.

"But you both don't have to leave, do you?" Fitz asked.

"I tried to tell her to stay here." Ward said. "But she doesn't listen. She insisted on coming with me, no matter how many times I told her no. I eventually gave in."

"Skye," May began.

"May, you know I'm not comfortable being around the team just yet." Skye said. "I just want some more away time that's all. Ward already said that we would come back in time."

Coulson nodded solemnly and looked to Ward, "You'll watch over her, right?" he asked.

Ward nodded.

Skye groaned, "You're acting just like a dad!" she exclaimed. "And besides, he's the one that needs to be watched. You don't want him forgetting who he is and wandering the streets for like an hour, do you?" she asked.

"Skye." Ward groaned.

"Well it's true. Then you forget you can set yourself on fire, then you sneeze and erupt in flames or something."

"That's not how it works."  
"Of course it is."

"Look, you two both need to watch over each other." Bobbi said. "Make sure that neither of you get hurt."

"You know we'll both miss you." Fitzsimmons said at the same time.

"Hell, I think we'll all." Hunter said. "Believe it or not."

"Hunter speaks for us all, actually." Coulson said. "Skye, it's just that we didn't figure that you would leave too. But as long as you two are safe, I'm fine with it. I just don't want you getting kidnapped by Hydra again and for Ward to fall off of a cliff again. Just stay safe out there."

Ward smiled and wrapped his arm around Skye, "Don't worry, I'll make sure that Skye won't cause the next big earthquake or anything."

Skye groaned and playfully shoved Ward off of her, "Get off of me you big goof!" she exclaimed.

"I'm just saying."

"And don't you two goof around." May said. "Might cause the apocalypse or something."

Skye and Ward both rolled their eyes.

They all started to say their goodbyes, since Skye and Ward were to leave pretty soon. Even though the sad mood that filled the air, this was the start of something new. Skye and Ward were both hitting the restart and starting again.

Hopefully this time there would be no Hydra kidnappings, Ward going psychotic and turning into a monster, or Ward falling to his death. Hopefully, everything would be good. They were hoping for a fresh start.

And, maybe, this was their chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	30. Chapter 30 (Finale)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months later, Skye has some news for Ward.

(Three Months Later)

Coulson looked up from his paperwork as May came into his office, "Mel, what is it?" he asked.

"Another Hydra base has been taken down." she replied. "In the same fashion as the other three."

"So that's four bases in three months." Coulson looked briefly to his paperwork and then back to May, "Do you think it's them?" he asked. "There's been no reports to who has done it. But if the bases are going down from seismic activity and fire as well, it has to be them."

May took a breath, "Phil, it's probably possible. I really wouldn't think that those two would go off on their own and start taking down Hydra bases, but it does seems possible. And I think we can actually check."

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Agents recovered what seems to be the remains of a surveillance camera from the wreckage from the third base that was taken down just last week." May said. "Fitz and Mack are currently trying to extract the footage from it. So, maybe, there's footage left and it might show who took down the base."

"How long ago did they start working on it?" Coulson asked.

"This morning. Knowing those two, they're probably done." May continued. "It wouldn't hurt to go check."

Coulson nodded and stood from his chair, "Good." he said, following May out of the room and down the hallway.

The two agents went into the lab where Mack and Fitz were bent over something and Simmons, Hunter, and Bobbi stood nearby.

"So I hear there could be possible footage of who has been taking down the Hydra bases." Coulson asked, coming over. "How's it going?"

"Wait just a bit. Do this here. And there…" Fitz muttered. "And there you go! Mack, connect it to the computer screen and lets see if we can get the footage up or not."

Mack nodded and followed Fitz's directions.

Fitz did a few more things to the broken camera and a snippet of grainy footage popped up onto the monitor.

"Bingo!" Mack exclaimed.

The team came closer as Mack toyed with the footage.

"There's not much that was recovered." Mack said. "But looks like," he paused on two silhouettes. "Here could be our guys."

"Can you improve the resolution or what not?" Hunter asked. "'Cause all I see is an outline."

"Hold on." Fitz said, typing on a keyboard. "This should do it."

The quality of the image improved some, not that much, but it was still enough to make out who the two people were.

"Is that?" Simmons asked.

"Told you." May said.

"Well I'll be damned." Coulson said. "Skye and Ward, it's them."

Believe it or not, the two people on the screen were in fact Skye and Ward. Skye looked as though she was in a hurry and Ward's eyes were glowing a bright red and flames sparked off of him.

"So they're the ones." Bobbi said.

"I guess, unless they were captured by Hydra and escaped." Coulson replied. "But the demise of this base matches all the other ones. Seismic activity and flames. It has to be them."

"Well, that's…" Fitz said.

"Great." Mack said. "Honestly, I thought that Ward was going to try something and go crazy again, but I guess not. Boy, I was wrong"

Coulson smiled as he shook his head, "Looks like we've got someone helping us out. Looks like our work has been slightly cut."

 

 

(Elsewhere, About a Month Later.)

Ward pulled his shirt on as he stepped out of the motel bathroom. He noticed Skye sitting on the edge of their bed, a strange, worried look on her face. "Skye, what's wrong?" he asked. "Did I leave something behind again?"

Skye shook her head, "No, not that." she said. "I think we need to go back to the team."

"What? Why?" Ward asked. "Skye, I know we both promised that we would both go back, but it's only been like four months. I think we still need a little more time."

"Grant," she looked up at him. "Something's come up and I don't think we can stay on the run."

"Skye, what did you do?" Ward asked. "I swear if you hacked into something else."

"No, not that either!" Skye exclaimed. She took a breath, "Grant, I'm pregnant."

Ward's face drained of all color and he about fell over, "E-Excuse me?! C-Can you repeat that?" he stammered.

"I'm pregnant, we're having a child."

Ward stayed motionless and white in the face for a while before finally stammering out, "T-That's great! Well, I guess. I don't know!"

Skye smiled softly, "Grant, I'm saying we need to go back to where I can be watched. And we don't need to be carrying a child around with us while we're running around and blowing up Hydra bases. I think we need to give that up for a while."

Ward blinked and took a breath still reeling from the news, "I guess you're right. Nobody needs to be getting hurt."

"Grant, I'm sorry for taking you by surprise." Skye said, standing up.

Ward shook his head and walked over to her, "I-I'm fine." he stammered, bringing her into a hug. "It's just that I didn't think that it would happen. A-And think of the circumstances, Skye. We're both not human, just imagine our child."

"He/ she will be perfectly fine." Skye said, burying her face into Ward's warm chest.

"Just don't cause the biggest earthquake ever giving birth." Ward chuckled.

Skye's face fell, "I didn't think of that."

"You'll be fine." Ward said softly. "We'll both be."

"Sorry if this ruins anything you wanted to do." Skye muttered.

"No, it doesn't. Actually it furthers everything, I guess. A chance at a new life. I don't know."

"You'll be a great father."

"You'll be a great mother." Ward said, smiling. "Skye, you know that I love you."

"I can't even begin to imagine how much you do."

The two went into a kiss that lasted a good while.

Skye had fallen back in love with Ward over the past four felt that everything was headed back towards normal, despite the fact that now there would be a baby in the mix and both Skye and Ward weren't human. But everything was starting to feel the way it was before the Uprising.

"So," Ward said, after they were done. "When do you want to head to the base?"

"Let's go tomorrow." Skye said. "I just want one more day alone with you."

Ward smiled.

"I can't wait to see the look on Coulson's face when we get back. Oh God, he'll fall head over heels over a baby. He'll take the dad position even further and become the baby's pseudo-grandpa or something." Skye said with a horrified look.

"He'll be fine."

"He might kill you for this."

"We'll be fine. Everything will be fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and kudos coming! One more chapter left!


	31. Chapter Thirty-One (Three Years Later)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything's said and done.

_(Not Long After Skye's Announcement)_

_Coulson's face fell as the two words came out of Skye's mouth._

" _I'm pregnant."_

_Coulson looked to Ward, an angry look on his face, "I told you to take care of her, not get her pregnant!" he exclaimed._

" _You're not my dad!" Skye exclaimed. "Look, we're back! Ward and I are starting a family! You should be glad, not mad at Ward! Besides, you can be the pseudo-grandpa or whatever."_

" _Pseudo-grandpa?!"_

" _I think she means godfather, Phil." May said, walking over to Skye. She smiled, "Congratulations." she said. She looked to Ward, "And I guess the baby will have a good father."_

" _You guess?" Ward asked. "I hope so."_

" _But Skye, this is wonderful!" Simmons exclaimed. "There'll be a little Skye or a little Ward running around."_

" _Oh God." Fitz moaned. "What if there's both?"_

" _I think the base would fall apart." Hunter said._

" _They won't be exact copies of them!" Bobbi exclaimed. "Well, I hope not. Alien breeding or whatever."_

" _We're not aliens!" Skye exclaimed._

" _Technically, yes." Mack said. "You're aliens."_

" _Wow, thanks for the supports guys." Skye complained sarcastically. "Really."  
Coulson took a breath and smiled, "Come on, let's get you two settled in. And start baby proofing the base! We don't need a baby being blown up! And make sure they have everything they need!"_

" _See, pseudo-grandpa! I told Grant that Coulson would go bonkers!" Skye exclaimed. "I knew it!"_

* * *

(Current Time, Three Years Later)

Ward smiled as he watched his two children play on the rug of the base's common room from his spot on the couch. They were just a few months over two years old and both were wide open.

Skye gave birth to twins on September 5th 2016. A boy named William Phillip Ward and a girl named Elizabeth May Ward, or Will and Eliza for short.

Will was a miniature version of Ward in terms of looks, the same for Eliza with Skye. And both were adorable. And luckily for the team, neither of them show any signs of having powers yet, but that didn't mean that it would happen in the future.

Eliza lumbered over to her dad's leg and started to pull on his pants, "Daddy, hold me." she said.

Ward smiled and bent down to pick up his daughter. He placed her in his lap and looked at her, "Are you hungry?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, just wanted you."

"You're such a cheese."

"Why would I be cheese?" she asked.

"It's a saying. You're not really a piece of cheese, if you were I would eat you." Ward joked.

"Don't eat Eliza!" Will yelled, clumbering over and play-pounding on Ward's leg. "Don't eat her!"

Ward scooped up Will as well, "Watch out or I'll eat you as well."

"No!" they both cried.

"Or how about the… Fire monster?!"

"Noooo!"

The two children giggled as Ward couldn't help smiling as his two children.

Skye came into the room along with Fitzsimmons, "Well, look who's being a clown." she said.

"Mama!" Will and Eliza exclaimed. "Unca' Leo! Aunt Jem!"

"Isn't it time for your naps?" Skye asked, looking at her two children.

"No…"

"Yes, it is."

"But we wanna play!" Eliza exclaimed. "I want Daddy's cools tricks!"

"Tricks?" Fitz asked.

"She means that I set my hand on fire or something." Ward called out. He looked to Eliza, "Maybe another time, sweetie." he said. "It's time for your nap."

Will grabbed onto his dad's hand and started shaking it, "But we want the fire!"

Ward looked to Skye, "Skye, help me out. I can't say no."

Skye sighed, "Fine, one trick. But at least put them on the floor where they won't get burned." She side-eyed Fitz, "We don't want Fitz's incident again."

"I'm sorry that I accidently scared him!" Fitz exclaimed. "I didn't think that he would retaliate!"

"He scorched your tie." Simmons said.

"My favorite tie."

"Oh, please."

"Come on, Daddy!" Eliza exclaimed.

Ward sighed, "Fine." He scooped up the two kids and placed them on the floor, about three feet away from the couch. He flicked his hand, sending it sparking into the dark hellfire.

Both Will and Eliza were in awe.

"Can I do that?!" Will exclaimed, flicking his small hand.

"God, I hope not." Skye muttered. "Don't need anymore hotheads running around here."  
"I heard that." Ward called out.

"It's amazing how little it takes to entertain those two." Fitz said.

"Leo, he's setting his own hand ablaze. Honestly, I still think it amazing you every time too."

Fitz looked down, "Maybe." he muttered.

Ward laughed as he extinguished the fire and got up, looking at the two kids, "Alright, you two, your mom's right, time for a nap." he said.

"No!" they both screeched, getting up and running from him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ward yelled, running after his two kids. "Come back here! Fitz, block the door!"

Fitz sighed and stepped in front of the door.

Will and Eliza both ran into Fitz, who looked over at them with a serious look.

"Hey, Unca' Leo…" Will said innocently.

Suddenly a pair of muscular arms wrapped around them and picked them up. "Alright you two." Ward said, looking at them. "No more games, you're going to bed."

"But Daddy…"

"You heard him, you two." Skye said, kissing them both on the forehead. "Nap, now."

"Fine." they both muttered.

"I'll be back." Ward laughed, walking out of the room.

"How are they his kids?" Fitz asked. "They're nothing like him."

"They're only two, Fitz." Skye said. "There's no telling to what they could be like in five years."

"Oh God."  
"Fitz." Simmons groaned.

"Help us Papa Phil!"

Skye laughed as she heard the mock cry for help float into the room from her two children as Coulson came in, a look of confusion on his face.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Grant's putting them down for their nap." Skye said.

"Wonderful. Maybe it'll be quiet just for a little while."

"Coulson, you know Grant and I are still looking for somewhere to settle down." Skye said. "Somewhere where we can raise those two banshees without the threat of Hydra or something around them. Somewhere where we can send them to school and they'll have other kids to play with. Despite its name, the Playground is nowhere for two two year olds."

Coulson nodded, "I know that. I've also starting looking for you too, haven't found anything yet though."

"Really? Thanks!"

"Anything for you, Grant, and my two wonderful godkids."

"Pseudo-grandpa…" Skye muttered.  
"Stop calling me that!" Coulson exclaimed.

Fitzsimmons laughed.

" _Unca' Lance, help! Aunt Bobbi! We want Mama May or Unca' Mack!"_

The four agents laughed as the mock cries of the two toddlers echoed down the hallway.

"I don't think Lance or Bobbi will help them, especially if it's Ward with the kids." Fitz said.

"Grant's loving, but he knows when to put his foot down." Skye laughed.

They all laughed, liking their current situation. Everything was good. The Hydra threat had dwindled down in the past three years and there wasn't a big number of missions. Skye had quit fieldwork to stay with the kids, only doing computer-type work.

Ward had been pretty much fully integrated back into the team, despite a few issues here and there. His memory was improving, only having an episode every now and then. And the monster remained hidden, nowhere to be seen. Hopefully, it was gone for good.

Yeah, you could say that life was good.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! Hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Something I did on Fanfiction a while back. It ended up being one of my most popular ones. Let's see how it does on here.


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